Voyage
by MadameLovely
Summary: Revamp: Rosemary Aer is a nurse and recently graduated uni student living and working in California. Boyfriend, her own place, a perfect life. Until a night gone awry and a change in her plans sends her to the past. Giant humans, fighting teenagers, and a certain shorty leave her feeling so out of place. How will she get back? More importantly, why was she here? Levi X OC.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A little revamp of another story that I had lost muse for I AM SORRY it wasn't particularly popular anyway.

Rosemary Aer is a nurse and recently graduated uni student living and working in California. She has a boyfriend, her own place, so nothing could possibly go wrong. Until one day at a New Year's Party she's sucked into a mirror and into a completely different time period way in the past. Giant humans, fighting teenagers and a certain shorty leave her feeling so out of place. How will she get back? And more importantly why is she here?

_Chapter 1_

"Aer!" called my CNA, who's bouncy blond head came running at me with a pile of papers. I was tempted to run away, as fast as I could, but stopped myself. No point in avoiding the inevitable: my supervisor was too lazy and preoccupied with his current floosy to worry about such _tedious_ tasks, so he handed them down to me. It wasn't like I had a life beyond the hospital or anything.

Really, I didn't, if I sat down and thought about it. Even before I graduated university this past spring, I was still spending numerous hours training and working here, keeping me from my beloved and ever-so-patient boyfriend, Samiel. I felt a warmth consume me as I held out my arms for the load in her hands.

"_Thanks_, Emily," I groaned, clearly being sarcastic. She rolled her eyes at my attitude, undoubtedly awaiting the day when she graduated from her school and became a full-blown nurse—and then doctor. Then she would be my boss and would cop an attitude in my direction.

And I would stand **oh-so** proudly during that little golden moment.

Arms clutching the papers, I waddled to my own little desk at the reception area and placed the pile on top, seeing that the answering machine's light was blinking a bright red, calling me (no pun intended). Picking up the phone I put in my password and listened carefully.

"_Rose! Hey I hope I'll be seeing you and your man-candy at my party tonight! Remember, ten o'clock sharp. If you're late I swear to God I'll—"_ **"Message marked for deletion."**

I placed the ancient black phone back in its cradle and slumped in my old rolling chair, a chuckle escaping my thin lips. Brushing a silver strand of hair away from my freckled face—_how did you escape my ponytail, asshole?_—I leaned down for my purse and grabbed my phone, sending Misty, my best friend and roommate from college, a quick confirmation that _yes_, I would be there and _no_, I would not miss it for the entire world.

Usually, parties and me didn't go hand in hand at all, but this New Year's Eve I would be spending the night with my boyfriend of six months, Samiel Evans. He was this slightly tanned, very tall (to my four feet nine inches) male with amber red hair and the brightest eyes in the whole world. To me, he was just perfect and extremely sweet and supportive, and this year we would be spending our first New Year's together. We didn't have Christmas, but that didn't' matter to me. We had our entire lives ahead of us, and Misty was pretty certain that he was going to pop the question tonight. I'd been telling her he'd been very secretive as of late, and that was her deduction. It lifted my previous insecurities, at least, and filled me with a lot of excitement and anticipation.

And _why could this day not end soon enough?_

Finally seven rolled around and I was dismissed from work. Just enough time to head to my place—**my** place, I still couldn't believe it—and shower and change before heading over to Misty's. Traffic wasn't on my side and it took almost an hour to arrive home, so it cut down my "getting-ready" time, but no matter. Taking my hair down, letting it hit my waist, I tossed my clothes onto the carpet and hopped straight into the shower. Quickly washing the smell of hospital from my skin, I exited with a towel wrapped around my body and headed to my closet, groaning at my options.

_Scrub. Scrub. Oh, __**look**__ a scrub! _I finally relented on wearing my light green babydoll dress and a long-sleeved purple undershirt, pulling on white pantyhose and my brown boots. I didn't look at all ready for a party, but at least I didn't look like a nurse. I brushed my hair, fought with it on the style, and gave up, letting it fly around my shoulders and on my back. I would just be around people that have seen my at my best and worst—except for Samiel, who's never seen me in less than my "going out" clothing.

A lot of people found it strange that we hadn't done much as far as couples went, but I was saving myself for the right time, which he respected. We would come close, but something would always be missing and I would cower out last minute. He didn't seem to mind, and he would change the channel on the television to some stupid cop chase or something, anything to distract us from the previous events.

_So. Perfect._

Now I drove to Misty's house, my head focused on the objective: to be with Samiel. My friend too, but spending the holiday with my boyfriend seemed so important to me.

The place was packed with cars, more so than I expected, but I managed to find a spot down the block. I pulled out my phone and dialed Samiel, but he didn't answer. _Looks like I'm risking the walk by myself._ I shrugged, pulling out my pepper spray. I wasn't a damsel in distress by any means; I'd taken self-defense and my daddy sure as Hell taught me how to use a gun proper—which I decided to keep my handgun hidden in the glove box instead of bringing it with me—but I just liked having my boyfriend walk with me.

I didn't bother knocking on the door—by the sound of the music on the other side, no one could have heard me anyway—and looked around for Samiel. I spotted Misty first, who looked rather stressed out. Misty, the biggest party goer in college, looked stressed at a party. I tapped her shoulder and gave her a soft smile, but she didn't return it. Her eyes widened, and she looked almost terrified to see me.

"_What?"_ I hollered, though the sound of my voice was drowned out by the surrounding noise. She took me by the arm and led me back outside. So I asked again, "What?"

"Look… Have you talked to Sam lately?"

I blinked, shook my head. "No, I was actually going to ask if you've seen him."

"He's in the master bedroom, but Rose—"

I didn't bother listening to her. My thoughts were completely engulfed with being embraced in Samiel's strong, warm arms. I bolted from my spot back inside the apartment and made a b-line for the Misty's room. But when I opened the door, what I saw wasn't entirely up to my expectations.

And it tore me to pieces.

There was Samiel, tangled up in Misty's sheets. There were his clothes on the ground. But that wasn't me lying beside him, rocking back and forth with drunkenness. My feet refused to move though all I wanted to do was run as far away as possible and not turn back.

"Rose, baby, I can explain—" The girl next to him interrupted his sentence by flopping herself on top of him shameless, uncaring that his girlfriend was right in the doorway. Did she even know he _had _a girlfriend?

"**Don't."** My voice was surprisingly calm despite the war of emotions going on within me. "I get it. Whatever." Finally, my feet obeying my commands, I turned on my heel and ran to the bathroom.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ He wasn't being secretive because he was waiting to propose, of course not! He was being secretive because I wasn't putting out, so he needed someone to fulfill that need for him. The tears I wouldn't shed in front of him now spilled onto the white marble sink but I wiped at them quickly_. Maybe this is why I don't wear eye make-up._ Actually, it was because I wore thick black glasses, though I didn't wear them now. I wanted to, to hide my reddening eyes.

Lifting my gaze to meet my reflection's, I stared into my own green eyes and wondered just why I didn't suspect anything. He was my first boyfriend, so I guess I gave him the benefit of the doubt. _He wouldn't do that to me, he loved me,_ I thought. _**Idiot!**__ He didn't owe you anything._ I stared longer until the image started to shift at the edges, then waver. Blinking to focus, I noticed the shifting didn't stop but seemed to quicken.

I stepped back, clutching my fists over my beating heart, eyes widening at my distorting reflection. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening! My head was so out of whack, it had to be creating the image before me. But why was just the mirror wavering instead of the entire room, which would be expected if I was having an episode of some kind?

With a heaving breath, I dared to lift one hand and pressed it against the image—and it completely broke before me, opening up to—A portal? It was shining a bright light and a strong wind pulled me to it, through it, closing the shattered mirror behind me until all proof of its destruction ceased to exist.

I traveled in slow motion for awhile. I felt as if I was surrounded by everything and yet nothing at all. Then the air shifted and I was traveling at the speed of light until another "mirror" broke from the force of my back hitting it, though it restored just as quickly as it had shattered.

Blinking rapidly, I looked around at my surroundings trying to take them in. The mirror was gone—_was it even there in the first place? Was this all real at all?_ Woods. Grass. Outside, alright. And it was broad daylight. That was good, then I could navigate easier. There was also a person, but they weren't wearing clothes. I stood up with wobbling legs and walked toward them, seeing if they needed help as well as wondering if they could help me find my way home—or to the nearest city, or maybe explain what the actual fuck just happened.

As I got closer, they seemed to get bigger… and bigger… and **bigger**… Until he towered over my by several feet, making me hold my breath.

_I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto. _


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. Very slow starting but now the ball is definitely rolling.

_Chapter 2_

_Move. Run. Scream. __**Do something!**_

My mind was throwing out a million commands, but I could do nothing but stare at the creature before me. They held a humanoid form, but even though they were clearly naked they had no genitals, no nipples, no sign of a reproductive system whatsoever. It had a bulging stomach, but short arms and legs, having to bend at the knees in order to balance itself. Its eyes were sunken into its head yet large enough for me to see. And those eyes were completely honed in on me, its lips pulled back in what seemed like a permanent smile.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no noise came out. It reached down and grasped me in its large hand, squeezing me a little too tightly. It brought me close to its face and inspected me, as if sizing me up.

Only when it opened its mouth and brought its hand close to its teeth did I finally let out a blood-curdling scream, one that made my throat burn but adrenaline made me uncaring. From what I could see, no one else was out here so why—

A _**shing**_ of metal cutting through flesh. The sound of air whizzing from behind the creature's head as it started to tumble to the ground. It released me and I went rolling onto the grass, hitting my shoulder hard enough that it would definitely leave a bruise, but nothing really major. My torso and abdomen felt like I was wearing a corset just a little too tight and it felt hard to breathe, but I was more thankful for the fact I was still alive.

_It was going to eat me! That son of a bitch was going to put me in its mouth!_ My body started to quake as the realization of these last few minutes set in. I was about to die. But what stopped it?

I look around again, searching for my savior and spotted him on a nearby tree.

His eyes were narrowed, his dark brow furrowed on his face, as he cleaned the sword he'd used while staring intently at me. He wore a long green cape, and from what I could see a white shirt with his white pants—that wasn't entirely ideal in my opinion—and long brown boots. When he was satisfied with how his sword sparkled in the light, he jumped down gracefully from the branch before walking over to me, his expression unchanging.

"What are you doing beyond the walls?"

I couldn't help the look on my face, one of absolute confusion. I shook my head, not understanding his question. "Pardon?"

"You're not authorized to be here, so what are you doing?"

"I-I_**—" I am just running away from my cheating boyfriend and my best friend's noisy ass party kind of against my will due to a brightly-lit portal.**_ That didn't sound crazy in the slightest. "It's… a long story."

He looked around, rubbing his black hair as he thought of what to do next. Then he bent down and pulled me forcefully to my feet by the arm, guiding me away from the quickly-decaying carcass he'd slain.

_How is it disappearing that fast? That's not even possible!_

"You'll explain that story once we're back inside the walls. Until then, I'll keep my eye on you." He glanced back, scanned me up and down, then rolled his eyes. "That doesn't seem entirely appropriate for titan-killing. Or just walking around in general." He made a "tsk"ing noise. "I'm not sure you should even wear that to bed."

I looked down at my clothes, now slightly tattered due to me falling in the grass and dirt. "Excuse me? Where I'm from, this is actually pretty modest."

"I wonder what _**is**_ inappropriate where you're from then, hmm? Wearing nothing at all? You're about halfway there."

The _nerve_ of this guy! I should have just found the next big ass human to swallow me up like the last one had intended to do. It was better than this guy insulting me by a long shot.

I tried to snatch my arm away, but this man wanted nothing to do with that. His grip tightened ever so slightly, but it was enough to keep me attached to him. I groaned and looked down at the ground, clearly defeated, before lifting my head up again. "Where are we going?"

"I'll be asking the questions around here," he stated, clamping his mouth shut, refusing to say anything further.

_Looks like I'll be finding out soon enough._

The man shoved me through a small fence of trees and before me seemed to be a small campground. People were dressed similarly to him, working it seemed endlessly to get their tasks done. It almost reminded me of the hospital, and the fact that I was probably miles away from home.

I turned to speak to my savior, but he had moved around me and was now walking toward the biggest tent in the very center. He stopped short in his tracks and glared back at me. "Hurry your ass up. We don't have all day."

_I hate him,_ I decided. _I really hate him. I appreciate what he did for me, but I hate him. _My fists now tight balls, I stomped after him, staying a little closer than I wanted to. People stopped what they were doing to stare at me, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. I pulled down at the skirt of my dress, but it didn't make much of a difference so I simply opted to avoid eye contact altogether.

Inside the tent, a very tall man with blond hair and soft blue eyes was speaking with a woman who was almost a foot taller than myself and had dark hair with just as dark eyes. She had glasses rimming those brown orbs—no, they were goggles. That was different. The woman didn't look particularly happy with the male, but stopped what she was about to say next to look between the man who'd saved me and myself.

I was feeling self-conscious again, which with my rising insecurity and recent relationship development, it made me feel downright lousy. But I tried my best to shield it; now wasn't the time for self-pity. I had so many questions, but the one most important to me was: _**How do I get home?**_

"Levi?" the blond man's deep voice inquired of my ever-so-rude savior. "What is the meaning of this? Who did you bring into our camp?"

"I don't know. Some stupid ass girl wandering the forest."

_That tears it!_ "I wasn't wandering—"

"Why were you wandering the forest?" asked the brunette.

"I wasn't—"

"I am pretty sure what I found you doing was wandering in places you shouldn't."

"I wasn't wandering! I—" _**I was placed there by a portal through a mirror. **__Never mind. "_I got lost. Kind of."

"Lost indeed," mused the blond man, his lip turning up on one side before casting his gaze down to the shorter male—Levi, was his name. "I would like you to be her escort as we're moving back."

Levi blanched, as if he was insulted he'd been told to do such a thing. _Well, fuck you too, Shorty._ "Erwin, are you serious? She'll slow us all down—"

"It's an order, Levi." The man turned and left the tent, leaving a heavy air to fall between the three of us remaining.

"I would offer to do it, but I'm helping to haul in a titan."

"That should be second nature to you by now, Hanji," Levi joked, though his voice really held no humor.

"True, but not to the rest of my squad." She moved around us and toward the tent entrance. "You're welcome to come along—"

"Pass."

The woman gave a broad, loving smile, shrugged, and then left.

_**And then there were two.**_

"While riding on my horse, you will keep completely still and keep your hands to yourself. You will ride in front of me so I may keep my eyes fully on you, so you won't be trying any funny bullshit. **Got it?**"

_Just feed me to those big ass cannibals and be done with it._ Instead of saying that, I simply nodded, keeping my hands folded tightly in front of me.

"Good. Let's go."

We were mounted on our horse first before everyone else, making me shrink where I sat. Levi's arms were on either side of me, his hands firm on the reins. His horse was beautiful, all black with big dark eyes—and much too tall for the both of us. He managed to get on just fine, but I needed help, which Hanji (last name Zoe, I discovered) volunteered to do. Levi had his horse sidle up next to Erwin's (or Commander Smith as most people seemed to call him) and didn't utter a single word and didn't look in his direction.

_Was he that angry about having me along? I didn't choose this. _

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. Now was not the appropriate time to cry. When I was home and safe in my own warm bed, that would be the most ideal time to wail like a goddamn baby. But until then…

When everyone was in formation, Commander Smith finally called for everyone to move out. The horses they had trained moved very quickly despite the grassy, hilly terrain they had to deal with. Unbelievably, I was thoroughly impressed, but also frightened. Who did they have to get away from that they needed to train their horses so well? Were there more of those creatures about? A glance to the left revealed my answer.

I sucked in a breath and tried to speak, but Levi lightly punched the inside of my elbow. "Keep your eyes forward, girl. I don't need you falling off and slowing me down."

This time, I felt no disdain as I did as I was told, looking forward then down at his horse's flowing black mane. Anything to avoid staring at that demonic humanoid creature chasing after us.

"A few more leagues and the walls will be within eyesight!" called Commander Smith over the sound of horses' hooves beating against the ground. "Stay focused!"

And just as he'd said, the "wall" that Levi had talked about when we first met came into view. It looked rather tall—and surrounded by those humanoids. They were scratching at the hardened surface as if either trying to climb it or claw their way inside.

_What do they want?_

"Brace yourselves!"

I held my breath and clutched tighter to the saddle. Something tightened around my arms and it took me a moment to realize it was Levi's, trying to keep me steady as he rode.

"Sorry," I finally uttered after finding my voice.

"Shut up." His voice wasn't harsh like before, but the whisper still came out a little more acidic than he probably meant it to be.

"The titans have spotted us!" Hanji yelped, pushing her horse to catch up to her commander. "What do we do? Do we fight?"

"Grab the reins," Levi commanded, and I didn't even hesitate this time, just allowed my hands to hold onto the thick leather. "Whatever you do, do not look back, do not let go, do not let him stop. Is that understood?"

"Yes." I heard that familiar whizzing sound and then the air on my back shifted, suddenly cold. Still, my eyes held forward as we neared what looked like tall wooden gates.

Hanji gasped and called out for her comrade, clearly stricken with panic. "Levi! It's not worth it, come back!"

He didn't listen, however, but went to the titan closest to the gate. He latched himself onto the back of its neck and jumped high enough that his blades could make a pretty clean cut, completely slicing off a large chunk of flesh. The titan fell to the ground and he went on to the next one, this time spinning midair before bringing his blades down for the attack. It, too, fell rather easily, and I couldn't help but be… impressed. I still didn't like him, his attitude was something he definitely needed to work on, but watching him fight… it was like a dance, and I couldn't look away.

The gate opened to us now. I leaned forward to help Levi's horse move faster; many around me seemed to do the same thing. We were so close, and I could see the very inside of the walls: wrecked houses and fences and dried—blood?—liquid decked the image before me.

_What kind of world were they living in?_

Erwin, Hanji, myself and two others passed the gate first, followed by several others. Disobeying Levi's orders, I dared to look back. He had fallen to the ground, a horrible grimace on his face. I stopped his horse and turned back around, hearing Hanji and Commander Smith call after me. "Girl! Girl come back! Get back here, _**that's an order!**_"

I jumped off his horse just inside the gates and motioned for it to continue on without me. I didn't know what I was doing, if I was going to be any help at all, but he had risked his life for me. _This would make us equal._

"_**Idiot!**_ What are you doing?" He rushed to me, his leg and arm clearly injured but he didn't seem to care. "Get back in there right now, dammit!"

Two titans came charging at us. This should have been the end. I felt Levi's arm snake around my waist and I heard a clicking noise, but nothing happening. "Shit! My gear's broken." He cast his glare down at me, but I could see… a fleck of sadness. Like the face of someone with an apology on the tip of their tongue.

I hugged him tight, wished to be out of this situation—_and we were._ We were floating in white when I looked around, and the air was thin just like before. When the light distorted and broke around us, we were tossed onto the ground amongst the circle of soldiers, the gates finally closed. Levi looked at me with a bewildered expression, and I didn't dare to look at anyone else.

"What _are _you?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Super swaggy shout-out to pokecharmer007, who favorited, and StarrySky0103, who followed my story. I really appreciate it :3

_Chapter 3_

_**Shackles are uncomfortable.**_

I relentlessly fought against the metal binds around my wrists and ankles for the umpteenth time, and of course, lost that battle. _But the war has yet to end!_ But my heart really wasn't into it, not in the slightest.

Why the Hell was I dropped off here in the first place?

Not jail, I could understand why they had locked me up. I would have too, considering the circumstances. Girls that just fly in and out of bright holes in the middle of a forest were kind of an unsuspecting force and they didn't want to take any chances. But couldn't they at least make things a little more comfortable? And what was the point of pinning me against a wall if I could just shift through… time?... space?... to be home again.

Where was home? How far away was it? As I'd been told by the military superiors, I wasn't anywhere near my own time period. This place was so ass-backwards, and their manner of dress stated that what I wore classified me as a "whore".

What good could I do in a place that had to constantly fight against giant cannibals—titans for the sake of survival? I couldn't fight them; Levi consistently reminded his comrades and commanding officer that I wasn't skilled or built to do so. So what was the point of my being here? It seemed rather… useless. A waste of time on everyone's parts. They had to deal with keeping the human race alive and I…

Well, my problems weren't nearly as monumental, but still had to be dealt with. I had to mellow out this bullshit with Samiel, apologize to Misty for kind of bailing (against my will, but still it happened), and I needed to find a plausible excuse as to why I wouldn't be at work tomorrow.

Today?

Yesterday?

This time-traveling stuff completely messed me up.

Someone entered the cellar, shutting the door and locking it behind them. They shuffled against the ground until they were finally at my cell. _Hanji?_

I tilted my head, puzzled by her being here. "I thought they forbade you from coming."

"They did. But they also understand that you have to eat, and they were all too busy to deliver this to you." She unlocked my cell and then my shackles, a heavy breath escaping my lips. I rubbed my sore wrists and stared down at the tray before me. Bread, water and some type of stew was set in front of me, and I didn't even pause as I went to devour it all. Only then did I also realize how hungry I actually was.

Taking a moment to breathe between bites, I asked, "What else did you need?" She was staring at me with such intensity it made me squirm where I sat.

"Where is it that you're from again?"

I had told this story a million times. _**"My name is Rosemary Aer. I'm twenty-three years old and from the sunny side of Southern California. I work in a hospital and live on my own. The year is 2013—2014, sorry, and I have—had a boyfriend named Samiel. My life is very boring and there is nothing special about me whatsoever except the fact I can somehow travel from place to place… or time to time or whatever, but usually against my will."**_

"Los Angeles," I said flatly. "Los Angeles, California."

"And you said it's 2014 there?"

"Yep," I answered quickly before taking another bite of my bread—stale bread, but it was certainly better than nothing at all. "But that's not the year here, right?"

"It's the year 850," she told me, a little sadly. I really was far from home. Too far.

I stopped eating, staring down at my flaky, dirty hands before lifting my gaze to the squad leader. "Will I get back home?" My voice cracked despite the tough façade I was trying to hold up.

"I don't know." She sighed and looked to the open cell gate. "I believe that you will, but that doesn't seem like something that's up to me, or you, or anyone."

"No one but Time and Space himself," I finished for her, placing the rest of my bread and stew on the makeshift bedside table and leaning against the cold brick wall behind my bed. "I don't even know why I would be brought here in the first place."

"There's a reason for everything," was all she said before standing up again. "I'm sorry, but you know the rules."

"I know, I know." I allowed her to restrain me once more before bidding each other farewell, listening to her leave and the gears of the cellar's lock turn, indicating I was once again all alone.

After a few days—had it been days? I really wasn't sure, I just knew every now again I would be fed, then sleep, then wake up and count the seconds until my next meal—Levi was the one to come down and retrieve me.

"You're being released into Hanji Zoe's custody."

I hid my emotions as well as I could, but this news made me feel elated. My eyes didn't dare meet his as he unhooked me from the wall and assisted me to my feet. I uttered a small "thank you" and shuffled away from that wretchedly uncomfortable bed and to the cellar door, waiting for him to let me out. I followed relatively close, but kept my head low.

"You smell rancid, by the way."

_Is this guy serious? Does he ever take a day off? _"I'm not sure how you would smell nice when you don't shower for a long time and are locked away in a dungeon for an x amount of days."

"That will be fixed today. As well as your wardrobe. We can't have you running around like a hussy if you're going to be accompanied by the military."

"Gee, thanks." I really was grateful, but not to him. More to the idea of getting rid of this filth crawling all over my skin and getting a change of clothes.

Levi led the way to a wash area of some sort and pointed to a small bag beside it. "That is what you'll be wearing. Once you're done, I'll be waiting here to take you to Hanji. Don't take forever."

Nodding mechanically, I slowly headed to the first washroom, grabbing the bag along the way and locking the wooden door behind me. Quickly, I tossed the old, dirty clothes aside and turned on the water, shivering as the rigid cold but reveling in the way the dirt on my arms and legs pooled at my feet and disappeared into a nearby drain.

And after what seemed like an eternity of bottling everything in, my emotions finally let loose. I cowered into the corner of the shower stall and allowed my tears to mingle with the running water hitting my face.

_I'm not home. I'm very far away. There are giant cannibals lining the stoned walls surrounding the last humans on Earth. My boyfriend is a cheating asshole. I let my friend down. I'm probably getting fired. People are literally fighting for their lives here. _

_I'm not home._

_**I'm not home.**_

"I want to go home," I sobbed, covering my mouth quickly so no other sound could escape. With wobbly legs, I stood up and washed the remaining grime off my body, gently scrubbing the soap onto my skin so as to not use too much before I finally exited. Toweling off, I threw on the clothes Levi had given me and dried off my mass of hair to the best of my ability before finally exiting. I contemplated at the trash can whether or not to keep my old clothes then simply tossed them away.

They held a lot of memories I felt like putting behind me right now.

"Too long." He assessed me in my new garb: black pants and a white button down with (I assumed) spare military boots. Then his eyes caught mine and I flinched. Were they red? _That would be embarrassing. _

Swallowing, I fixed my gaze elsewhere and asked, "So, where to now?"

"Zoe, or are you that forgetful?"

Fixing my glare back up to his, I ground my teeth together but said nothing. He seemed to feed off of anything that came out of my mouth as something to return with a quip. Best not to say anything at all. Only nodding, I followed behind him with my hands laced together in front of me. If I so much as moved them to my sides, he would turn around to glare at me, causing me to swallow my heart in my throat.

Was it truly necessary to act so intimidating? I was shorter than him—by maybe six inches but still—and clearly not as strong. What was the point in trying to frighten me? I couldn't run away, and if I did he couldn't really stop the force that made me. Didn't he have anything better to do?

We made it to a small wooden cottage and Levi entered without bothering to knock, holding the door for me. _Oh, so he can be a gentleman?_ He slammed it—too hard—after me and ushered me to the front room where Hanji and two other men were surrounding a table. Neither of them were Commander Smith, and I was unsure if this made me uneasy or relieved. With his presence came so much sureness and confidence, yet also there was an aura that made everyone surrounding him undoubtedly aware he was their leader.

Hanji looked over at us, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and giving us a sweet smile. "Look who decided to join the party!" she exclaimed, moving around her comrades and reaching behind Levi for me. "Just in time, too. We were just discussing—"

"Erwin didn't approve—"

"Not that, Levi, shush." Hanji rolled her dark eyes and then fixed them on mine. "We were wondering if you could describe _it_ for us?"

"_It?_" I repeated, looking between all of them, including Levi, before my green eyes landed on Hanji again. "You mean, the _traveling_?"

"Yes!" She appeared as if she may burst into flames, she could barely contain herself. "Maybe write it down. What happened before, during, what you were thinking. As vividly as possible."

"What happened before?" I stiffened, but I hoped it didn't show. Nonetheless I nodded in agreement. "Sure, why not. When do you—"

"This way!" Hanji escorted me to a desk near a window and sat me down, handing me a pen and placing several sheets of paper in front of me. "Like I said, recount everything prior to and during. It may be a clue as to why you're here." She motioned for her squad members to leave. "I'm going to be in my room if you need me." She bound up a set of stairs and disappeared, leaving me, Levi, and this pile of paper alone.

"I'm going to be waiting until you're done." He sat in the nearest chair and leaned back, placing his feet on the table and pulling out a knife and a random piece of wood.

"You mean you're babysitting," I corrected him, turning away to focus on my new task.

"Something like that."

No more words were uttered between us as I went to work. I recounted as far back as the voice mail from Misty, unsure how to describe that to people who didn't have phones, but I did my best. I seemed to have been writing forever before I heard a very strange noise very close to me. Like sniffling. Was Levi sick?

When I focused on my surroundings again, I realized that sniffling was _**me**_, and I was crying very, very hard. How far had I gotten in my little story? Rereading what I wrote, it was just before I found out about Samiel cheating on me. My body racked with silent sobs and I tried my best to keep myself still and my mouth shut, but of course my actions didn't go unnoticed by Levi. He stood up and took the paper from under my nose, my reaching for it absolutely futile.

"What? Boy trouble?" I'd stopped at the part where Misty had told me where Samiel was hiding.

I gave a harsh laugh at that. "**Not **anymore." Wiping my face quickly, my hand snapped for the paper again—and failed on grasping its mark. "He isn't going to be a problem any longer, trust me."

I could feel Levi's gaze on me but I refused to give him the satisfaction of watching me cry and pout. No, I was just going to sit here until he returned what belonged to me. He finally set the piece of paper down and he turned his back on me, crossing his arms.

"Sounds like an idiot."

I scoffed. "Why, for dating a forgetful, wandering girl like me?"

"No." But he didn't explain anything further, just walked back to his chair. I heard the sound of a knife scraping against wood, and it seemed like I wouldn't be hearing anything further on the matter.

What was Levi to everyone else? He seemed so important and well-known, but the only thing I've seen him do was be a self-sacrificing, sarcastic asshole. But just now he didn't… sound as harsh as he usually was toward me.

Why was that?

I ignored my thoughts long enough to write the rest of my little tale then placed it on the edge of the desk, standing up. "Now what? Do I… sleep on the floor? Back to the dungeon?"

"Hanji has a room prepared for you upstairs." He went to lean against the doorway, his arms crossed and eyes on me. "She most likely has quite a bit of plans for you, so get as much rest as possible."

There it was again: his voice was rough and yet not. Something about that bothered me and… made me warm and—_no!_ He was a complete son of a bitch and I needed to remember that. _He saved your life, but if you panicked enough you may have been able to save yourself. _

I moved to go upstairs but his hand stopped me. "Wha—"

"I know this is all bullshit, but try not to give everyone a hard time."

My mouth gaped at his words, a little insulted.

Before I could speak, he added, "That includes yourself, stupid." He let go of my arm as if it were on fire and left hastily, leaving me a little dazed.

_What __**are**__ you, Levi?_

A/N: **SCREAMING INTENSIFIES.** So I was looking over my story to make sure it was all tied together (I mean online but whatever) anD I GOT A REVIEW AND ANOTHER FOLLOW WHILE WRITING THIS. HELL. YEAH.

_Zara:_ Thanks for reviewing! Rose doesn't have the power to teleport, exactly. Just the ability to shift and travel through time and space. It'll be explained better as the chapters go on.

And to _i love athrun_, thanks for the follow! It means a lot :3


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to the 4 newest reviewers! That is amazing of you guys and it keeps me going!

_Chapter 4_

Levi wasn't joking. Before the sun even came up, I was shaken awake out of bed and to my feet before I was truly conscious. I blinked slowly, trying to assess just where I was. My back told me I hadn't slept on my own bed, so the past few days really weren't a dream. And the woman standing over me really put things into focus.

This isn't a dream.

"Ha'ji?" I muttered. "Wha' you doin'?"

"I just read your report and I want to go through some tests."

I rubbed my eyes, now more aware. "Tests? Tests for what?"

She laughed, as if what I'd just said was the funniest thing in the entire world. "Your powers, silly. I want to do it before either Erwin or Levi come to check up on me."

"_I know this is all bullshit, but try not to give everyone a hard time."_

Instead of arguing with her, I gave a curt nod, wobbling passed her and reaching for my white button down.

"You have a change of clothes right next to your bed," Hanji said. When I looked up at her, however, I noticed she was still wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday. "This outfit has another day or so before Levi starts bitching. But I'm used to it, whereas you're not."

Why would he complain about what someone else wore and how long they wore it? At any rate, when she left the room, I changed into a set of dark brown pants and a fresh white button down, pulling the military boots over my feet and heading downstairs. Hanji was already halfway out the door by the time I'd come down, and I hurried to catch up to her.

"Where are going?"

"_Shh!"_ she said harshly with a finger over her mouth. "Just trust me."

It was horribly frigid outside and I found myself shivering despite how fired up I felt. More than anything, I felt nervous. Were we about to initiate in the plans that "Erwin didn't approve of", as Levi had tried to state yesterday? I certainly hoped not. I just got out of jail, I didn't want a card throwing me right back in.

The sun was starting to peek over the horizon now as we neared a small wall of trees. Beyond it was a lush green field, completely open—with no one but me and the woman I started to believe was crazy.

"So," she began, facing me for the first time since our little trek started, "I've deduced that really strong emotions seem to cause the traveling." She didn't specify just which kinds of emotions made the first incident happen, but she did bring up when I brought Levi with me when we were beyond the walls. "You were scared, panicked, and your adrenaline was pumping. Surely those emotions warranted the traveling."

"But the second time I didn't travel to a different time, just a different place."

"It may have seemed that way," she responded, lifting a finger matter-of-factly, "but we had been waiting for several minutes before you came out of that bright hole out of nowhere. Why do you think the gate was shut so quickly after you disappeared?"

So my sense of time was completely messed up inside that portal. _Insane. _

"I'm going to induce those feelings," she went on, "to see if it would also induce the need to time travel, as it had before."

"How?" So this was why Commander Smith hadn't approved of this before: it could potentially harm and/or kill me if anything went awry.

She reached under either side of her military jacket and withdrew two small yet sharp knives. "Let me show you."

I took a step back, almost tripping on my own heel. "Hanji… Hanji, look, I don't think this is a good idea—"

"Just go with your gut, little Aer." Now her weapons were pointing in my direction, making my heart leap in my chest. I swallowed hard, my eyes honed on the sharp, shiny edges glistening orange in the bright morning sunlight.

_This is how I'm going to die,_ I decided then, calming myself down just a little bit. _I'm going to die and it's all for science._

She lifted the knives above her head, brought them down toward me—

And then she went flying across the field, something blocking her blades from dicing me into a million pieces.

"Levi?" my voice was barely a breath as I tried to register the last few seconds. "How did you—"

"I came to visit a little early today." His gaze didn't leave Hanji's body as she lifted herself from the ground, a broad smile on her face. _She's really, truly crazy!_ "When I saw you two were missing I figured she would be here. This is her favorite testing spot."

So I wasn't her first victim. This was both relieving and disheartening all at the same time. "Well… thanks." What else could I say? I was still in shock.

Hanji, laughing, came over to us, and I felt absolutely consumed by fear with just her presence. She did, you know, just try to stab me with two knives, no big deal.

"You caught me, Levi. What's my punishment?"

"How about a trip back over the walls?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his back pockets but continuing to be a barrier between me and the other woman. "Erwin got approval for yet another expedition."

"Already?" She blinked, her smile wiped away and replaced with a look of utter confusion. "That was quick."

"He wants to get a little more information down before we accept any new recruits. He wants to prepare them more. Or at least, that's how I understand it." He shifted his head ever so slightly in my direction before gazing back at his comrade. "A lot of new discoveries as of late, after all."

_**Ah.**_ So because of Levi finding me, Erwin felt the need to see what other weird shit lay beyond the walls. I felt kind of bad, considering what it was they had to deal with, but they signed up for this, right? They wanted to do this kind of work, or rather they wanted to give their lives for the sake of humanity.

_Admirable,_ I thought, feeling rather insignificant then. I couldn't do something like that.

"And what are we going to do with the girl?"

"She's going to patrol the walls with Pixis," Levi informed her, turning on his heel and forcing me to turn as well so I was walking in front of him. "And attend the graduation of the 104th trainee squad. Nothing significant there."

"I am lost," I finally admitted after having been stunned into silence. "Who will I be with?"

"He's part of the Garrison," he told me as we exited through the other side of the thin forest. "And he's going to be your guardian while we're gone."

"Sounds like fun."

"Do you like to drink?"

I shook my head, slowing down to walk beside him.

"Then you are about to be sadly disappointed."

Commander Dot Pixis was a pretty friendly fellow and spent some of his time inside the walls, it seemed, playing chess with Lord Balto and drinking. Mostly drinking. But somehow he managed to actually beat the Lord in question, which frustrated the man.

I sat with a book in my hand, one Hanji had allowed me to read. Apparently, certain reading materials were banned within the walls unless you were part of the military. This one had everything to do with the history of titans and different viewpoints of their origin. No one seemed to have any agree-upon story line, just that at one point the walls were built and here they were, surrounded by this concrete cage and their cannibal predators. Another book on the little table next to my chair held a lot of Hanji's theories, which I was about to pick up and dive into when one of the soldiers came into the room, breathless.

"Commander Pixis," he said, still trying to catch his breath. The bald man lifted his head from his game but didn't look at all phased by the man's disheveled appearance. "We have a situation. One in which mimics the one from five years ago."

Hanji had hinted about that during one of her visits to my jail cell a few days ago. Apparently, a titan taller than the wall had kicked in the outermost layer, allowing titans to completely take over that territory. It was one of the reasons they worked so hard even now: they wanted to take that wall back, by any means necessary.

And now another situation like that has risen?

Terror, panic, sadness—they all consumed me at once as I thought of all the people it would affect. I was about to speak when a warmth wrapped itself around me and tore me from my seat, a scream escaping my lips yet making no sound.

There was that bright, white light, that timelessness that usually enveloped me in this endless chamber, and a small sense of loneliness.

A wall broke behind me, dimming the light.

And I landed in my room. On my bed. My eyes flew open and I searched around my surroundings, touching everything that was closest to me: my white bedside table, my light purple walls, my white comforter.

So was it all a dream?

I dared to look down at my clothes, and lo and behold I was wearing what Hanji had given me back at her place.

I lay there for a little while, unsure if I wanted to get up, if I wanted to just lay here and think about all that had happened. Instead, my body decided for me and tears streamed down my face and onto my cheeks. I rolled onto my side and the small stream fell over the bridge of my nose and formed a small puddle on my pillow.

What would become of those people? Would I ever find out? What about Hanji? Erwin? Pixis?

_**Levi?**_

All those families and friends were now going to be attacked by that menace. And what did I care, there was nothing I could possibly do about it, right? Yet I had been summoned to that time period for a reason, and I had yet to discover why.

_I have to get back!_

**A/N:** This chapter was pretty slow-coming but it's kind of like an arc of sorts? Just roll with it, it's about to build up. Thanks to my 2 new favorites, I really appreciate it :33333


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Another follower and another review! Thanks y'all, that's awesome!

_Chapter 5_

Apparently, I was placed in the time period the morning after the events of Misty's New Year's Eve party. So everything should have felt pretty fresh to me. Yet I'd spent almost two weeks in another time period and I had time to rationalize everything.

Facing Samiel was still going to be hard for me, no doubt, but it wasn't top priority like it had been. I didn't know why, but I needed to be there, in the year 850, with Hanji and Erwin and Levi. My purpose had yet to be revealed and now with what just happened I wanted to be there more than ever.

At any rate, I put on my white nurse shrubs, grabbed my car keys and left, fighting with my hair to put as much of it into a bun as possible. I arrived for my shift five minutes late and got a verbal reprimand but nothing more. Apparently, we were short-staffed anyway, with so many people being too hung over to bother coming in at all.

"You also have a voice mail at your desk," said my supervisor as I was leaving and his mistress came through the doorway. "Evidently your phone had been blowing up since before you got here."

I already knew who they could have been from: Misty. Samiel didn't like to leave voice mails, which was one of the reasons we got along so well: I didn't really like to go through the effort of hearing them.

Sitting down, I reached for the dinosaur phone and hit the pound sign, entering my passcode and waiting for the inevitable messages.

"_Hey girl, I just wanted—look, I know that you—"_ She growled before going on_. "I'm worried. You won't answer your phone._ _You won't answer my texts. I haven't heard anything since I saw you last night and I know you saw… But anyway, if you need to talk, please give me a call or shoot me a message or whatever. Please? See you around."_

I slammed the phone down and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. I was relieved to hear Misty wasn't pissed at me for bailing on her party, but hearing her speak so sincerely reminded me of the fact I really did want to talk about it. I wanted to talk about everything that happened to me, but no one in either time period would understand the entirety of my situation.

_Looks like I gotta go through it alone._

I went through my day rather mechanically: checked some vitals, administered some medicine, resuscitated some hearts alongside my good-for-nothing doctor-supervisor. I was starting to realize as I was heading back to my desk to retrieve my wallet during my break that I kind of associated myself with cheating assholes without even thinking about it. For, no matter what the situation, I still have this innate ability to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Walking out of the hospital and onto the street, I headed toward my favorite coffee house for a white chocolate frozen coffee and blueberry scone—but it looked like a certain red-head beat me to it.

He stood with the coffee and food in question in one hand and a card in the other one, his face looking absolutely desperate. My heart lurched in my chest then into my throat, and I was horribly afraid that if I tried to speak—or yell, more appropriately—I would burst into tears or nasty, ugly sobs, and quite frankly there were more important things to deal with right now.

Like getting approximately 1500 years into the past and figuring out the entire reason I was applicable to do such a thing in the first place.

"I'm sorry," Samiel said once I was in ear shot, bending down—dramatically—to meet my eye level. "I don't think there is enough apologies in the world to make up for what happened last night."

"You're right," I retorted, my voice cracking despite how tough I was trying to appear. For me, it had been days. For him, it had been a few hours. Either way, despite how much I believed I had gotten over it, my heart still shattered when my mind remembered what I'd seen. "So leave."

"Is there nothing I can do?" He set his purchases on a nearby table and reached his hands out to hold me. Though there was nothing more that I wanted in this world than to be embraced by his arms, held in his familiar warmth, I retreated, taking a step back. "I'll take that as a _**no**_."

My jaw locked and my eyes glared up at him menacingly. I just wanted him to leave—not just to walk away from this place, but completely out of my life. But me actually saying so may have been much harder than I anticipated; I couldn't even get my mouth to really open up.

"I want you to know," he said as he turned to walk away, "I really was happy. With you. Being with you was probably the best six months of my life. And I'll regret hurting your forever."

Samiel really did sound guilty over what he did to me, and I truly did love him. Maybe he really was sorry for what—

_He sounds like an idiot._

The words rang in my head out of nowhere, Levi's voice bouncing off the walls of my brain, bringing me back to focus. I blinked, staring up at Samiel's back, my mouth open and undoubtedly appearing as if I was about to say something.

So I did.

"Have a good life, Sammy."

With a sad smile, he faced away from me and finally walked away. When he was out of sight, I looked down at the food left on the table and grabbed it, stuffing the card into my scrub pocket; no need to allow it to go to waste. That and…

And it would be the last kind act I could ever get from Samiel anyway.

I finished my scone before arriving back in the hospital's vicinity. Just as I was about to cross the street a siren from the emergency exit went off. That was a surefire sign for me to stay put or else risk getting myself run over. One of the newer CNAs, it seemed, didn't get the memo upon being hired for she went ahead just as the ambulance pulled out and onto the road. Panicked, I dropped my iced coffee and ran to push her out of the way. Stopped in the middle of the street, stunned, my gaze fixed on the large white vehicle barreling toward me—

Right before being consumed by the portal for the second time within the same twenty-four hours.

I closed my eyes tight and waited for the voyage to end, opening them only when I landed on a wooden floor. Filled with dread, I dared a peek with one eye, my single gaze fixing on someone across the broken and battered room. His eyes were also staring at me incredulously. My eyes shooting all the way open, I couldn't help but say breathily, "I'm sorry!"

At the sound of my voice, he placed a finger fiercely over his mouth and shook his head. _**Be quiet**_ he mouthed before dropping his hand and facing out the window nearest him. Cautiously, I moved from my spot of the room, maneuvering around broken chairs and tables and to his side, the way he shifted away from me going unnoticed.

He had slightly tanned skin and very long arms and legs, indicating he was quite tall. He had an undercut, much like Levi's and Erwin's, but it seemed his hair was two different colors and the top of his head was very fuzzy. He had a face like someone ready to do two things: defend someone he cared about or rip out the throat of his worst enemy. How did someone hold such an expression like that?

"Look, I don't have time to question you about what the fuck just happened or where the shit you came from. I need you to stay here 'til I can get some fresh gear, then I'm getting you to safety."

I shook my head rapidly at his offer. "I'll only slow you down—"

"I'm _sick_ of people dying on my watch," he said softly, his voice taking on a different tone entirely. "So just listen to me, would ya?"

Instead of arguing with him, I simply nodded and sat back. There was a titan not too far away, so I didn't want to make any more noise and completely ruin his chances of success.

"I'm going in." He pushed himself off the ground, appearing taller than I initially guessed, and ran outside for the dead soldier in the middle of the dirt road. The titan spotted him and instantly rushed from its current victim to grab him.

Without thinking, I emerged from my hiding place and into the open, exiting the house and running toward the titan.

"Idiot! You'll get swallowed whole, get back here!"

_**Go with your gut, little Aer.**_ _Well, Hanji, my gut told me this would be a good idea_. Staring up at the titan before me indicated maybe I was wrong, but I continued to run anyway. Right as I was about to be snatched up by its large hands, someone swooped in and grabbed me from behind, an arm firm around my waist.

"You really don't listen, do you?" The boy glared down at me, but seemed relieved that neither of us were dead.

_We're flying,_ I thought as I clung to his neck tightly, staring forward._ We're really flying_. He would occasionally use a pointed grapple to latch onto a nearby building and give himself more leverage and speed, but mostly we soared through the sky, higher and higher up until he met up with a few more comrades.

"Who's that, Jean?" asked a blond haired boy standing close to a girl with ink black hair and dark, deep eyes.

"That's a good question," Jean answered as he set me down. My face reddened as attention from all sides came to me. "Introduce yourself, kid."

"Kid?" I shot back, eyebrows furrowing as I glared up at him before facing the rest of them. "Believe it or not, I'm twenty-three years old. My name is Rose. But I don't think introductions are really top priority right now."

They nodded slowly in agreement then turned their heads to the crowd of titans attacking a nearby fortress.

"It's going to be risky," stated the blond boy, "but I have a plan that will reduce death rates and give us a chance to refuel and regroup for our next plan."

"And what about the girl, Armin?" asked a young boy who… didn't have hair?

"Once we're done there we can get her to the rest of the civilians," Armin told them, getting a curt nod from me. There wasn't much I could do anyway since I was just kind of along for the ride.

"When you're all ready…"

Jean reached for me and motioned for me to latch on again. Once I was settled did they finally move forward, toward the tower in the distance.

_**A/N:**_ And now Rose has met some of the trainees just before they witness the truth about Eren. Very fun. I just want to let you guys know I am up to date with the manga, the side-manga, as well as the "half" chapters regarding the "titan child" (SPOILER ALERTS EVERYWHERE). So if you're not up to date I would suggest proceeding with caution.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_ bereniceibuado you are my fourth follower on this story 8D thanks very much to everyone who is following and favoriting and sending reviews! And I am putting it out there that if anyone is feeling the need to be critical you are absolutely welcome. I am not easily offended.

_Chapter 6_

No matter how long I did it, I didn't believe there was any possible way to get used to flying like that. And more importantly, the skill required to do so was remarkable. Once again, I was feeling rather insignificant in a world where humans were pulling tooth and nail to ensure their survival.

_So why am I here?_ I would find out soon enough, hopefully.

They didn't bother to engage with the titans on account of the fact they didn't have enough "fuel" in their gear. I didn't understand what that meant, but I assumed it had to do with the reason we were up in the air. Clinging onto Jean's neck, I placed my life literally in his hands as we headed into titan-filled territory.

As I looked between the soldiers surrounding me, I couldn't help but note something: these were kids. They couldn't have been more than sixteen years old, but here they were fighting a war for humanity. Times really were desperate here, and I didn't think any amount of time travel would help me comprehend that.

"Brace yourself, Rose." We were closing in on the fortress, so I pressed my body tighter against his and closed my eyes, looking away. He brought one leg up, curled his arm more around my waist and crashed straight through a window. We were showered with glass and small wooden debris, but nothing we couldn't easily heal from. He barrel-rolled until he was on one knee and a foot, never releasing his hold on me.

Daring a glimpse, I noted, first, that we were in some type of library area and, second, that there were children crowded underneath desks. Jean helped me to my feet then stalked over to the kids in question, grabbing one by his shirt and bringing him to his feet.

Just high enough to punch him.

"Where were you?!" he cried, another freckled soldier grabbing him by his arms and pulling him back. "We needed you! We depended on you!"

The boy he punched cowered on the ground, holding his now bloodied nose. How hard did he hit him? The way it was slightly crooked indicated the boy may now have a broken nose, but in their current situation he wouldn't have enough time to get himself treated.

"They took over the cellar!" the boy hollered back, holding his face and trying his best not to burst into tears. "There was nothing we could do!"

I made my way over to the boy and knelt in front of him. "Jean," I said calmly, tearing off a piece of my shrub and bringing it to the boy's face, "They're just as scared as you are. You have to work together right now, not fight one another." The boy in front of me allowed his tears to flow onto his cheeks as he watched me work, sitting completely still.

I could see in my peripheral vision Jean physically calming down, probably realizing I was making a point. "All those people, though…" _I'm __**sick**__ of people dying on my watch. _I didn't know why I thought this, but he probably felt partially responsible for the deaths of the people who'd lost fuel or had broken gear. I wanted to reassure him that he really did try his best but something interrupted me.

Like two titans slamming their faces into the far wall.

"There are too many people gathered here at once," Armin muttered, as if staying quiet would really help in our current situation.

One of the titans reached its hand in and nearly grabbed one of the soldiers, but then its hand kind disappeared out of nowhere.

Due to the fact another titan had… knocked it out of the way?

Astounded, we all stood up and walked to the opening, daring a peek. The titan in question had more muscles than he probably needed with disheveled black hair and a terribly angry expression. It opened its mouth and released a blood-curdling noise, somewhere between a growl and a scream, and we all had to cover our ears to even remotely mute it.

"Is that titan… killing other titans?" asked the bald boy.

"Only if you're seeing the same thing I am, Connie," Jean answered back, his voice revealing the disbelief we were all feeling.

After quite some time, I stood up and touched Armin's arm. "I hate to be the voice of reason, but you should probably take this distraction and head to where you need to." I pointed to the area the other kids were hiding. "I can stay here, so don't worry about me getting to any type of civilians."

Armin looked kind of shocked at what I'd said, leaving me feeling very puzzled and a little insecure. It just made sense to me to stay behind with a few soldiers, though the others made it seem like they weren't particularly reliable. But I would take what I could get; no need getting in the way of their plans.

Nodding, he motioned for his comrades to follow him and ducked onto a set of stairs, their heads disappearing below. I went back to the other children and sat down in a chair located behind a tall bookshelf, keeping an eye out for any titans.

"I've never seen you around before," a girl said in a meek voice, her eyes wide as she stared at me. "Are you from the inner walls?"

I shook my head. "I'm just a visitor." Which wasn't a lie. "Kind of got caught in the middle of the commotion."

"Unlucky you," the boy with the bloodied nose uttered under his breath.

"You would think that, but not really. Everything happens for a reason, and I have faith in that." I smiled fondly at them, then sat beside the one with the broken nose. "Let me see that. It may be fractured and if you don't get it treated soon it's going to heal improperly."

"W-what are you going to do?" But before he could protest, I placed my thumb and forefinger on either side of his nose and realigned it. He slapped my hand away and yelled in shock, more tears rushing down his face. "That hurt!"

"It wasn't supposed to feel good," I told him, rolling my eyes. "It's to make sure that your face looked the way it did before instead of like a crooked mess." There wasn't any gauze or tape I could use to at least press against his nose to push down the pressure and keep his it straight, so I relented with another, larger piece of my clothes and having him press it against the bottom of his nose. The least he could do is stop the bleeding, but now my midriff was completely showing. Since Levi had commented how outrageous my outfit was before, I didn't feel comfortable with this and placed my arm over my flat stomach.

"You know a lot about medicine?" asked the girl from before.

"Some," I admitted, not wanting to sound like a cocky asshole. "It's not that big of a dea—"

The titan from before interrupted my sentence with a loud yell and I stood up and carefully inspected the damage outside. He was stomping on another titan's neck, then he kicked its head until it disappeared to another part of town.

_What kind of titan destroyed its own kind?_ I wondered. _Did it want all the humans to itself?_ But surely it couldn't kill all of them… could it? It seemed to have taken down quite a few, as indicated by the evaporated corpses surrounding him. Still, I couldn't believe that this one titan could beat all the ones around it. And more importantly, that sort of thing wouldn't go unnoticed, would it?

As I was returning to my little group, I heard the sound of… gunfire. It came from downstairs where the others had gone. Were they alright? I ran to the entryway but the young girl pulled my arm and tried to get me to come back. "There's nothing you can do to help them down there." My shoulders sagged; she was right, of course, but I really did want to make sure they were okay.

We sat in silence—save for the fighting outside—for what seemed like an eternity before we heard footsteps from above. I blinked, looking up as if I had x-ray vision and could see through the high ceiling. Getting to my feet, I stalked back over to the opening and gazed out in the hopes I would see the soldiers from before. One of them was standing on the edge of the roof and I waved to get his attention.

"Hey, none of the titans got you!" he said, a sweet, wide smile forming on his freckled face.

I shook my head, smiling right back. "Same to you! What's going on?"

"The rogue titan from before is being eaten." Now his expression changed from cheery to sad, making my heart lurch. I nodded and went to the window closest to me, walking around the glass and leaning close enough so as to not cut my hands.

Sure enough, titans were surrounding it; the last chance they probably had to one-up the situation was now being devoured by… by other titans. _What in the world is going on? _None of this added up to the reading or watching I'd done. And the children all sounded just as confused as myself. I felt a knot form in my throat as my heart really did feel for these people. I could never understand the true hardships they'd gone through, but I felt bad for them all the same.

The titans after some time finally left the mauled, evaporating body of the rogue titan alone, scouring around the building for new prey. I ducked away from the window and then to the other side to keep a look out. _As if there's anything I could do anyway._ I watched the body disappear into the ground, but…

But something about it wasn't right. Squinting, I noticed that the neck of it was… moving, like how a blanket looked when an animal is hiding underneath. Watching closer, something emerged from the decaying flesh—a boy! A young boy came out of its neck, facing up to the sky but his eyes were still closed.

One of the girls, the ink-haired one from before, leapt from her place on the roof and rushed to the boy, jumping onto the rotting bones of the titan and wrapping her arms around him. "Mikasa!" I heard Armin call from the roof, leaping down to join her. I pushed myself to my feet then and ran downstairs, the soldiers hiding with me following suit. We made it outside just in time to hear the girl crying, and they sounded like… tears of relief.

_What the hell is going on?!_

Armin pressed his hand against the boy's and squeezed, also crying. At any rate, they seemed to be alright with whatever was happening here. They worked together to pull the boy from the titan's body and sit him upon the ground.

"I can't believe it," Jean whispered, a hand pressed against his forehead. "Eren… Eren was the titan? He was _in_ the titan?"

So this wasn't a normal occurrence. But apparently a lot of things about today weren't entirely of the norm.

"Guys," Connie said in a warning voice, "We have to get moving—"

A titan came from around the corner and toward us, its arms already outstretched and ready to take its prey. Jean, Connie, and the young soldiers I hid with prepared themselves to engage it, but right before it was within their reach it fell to the ground. Someone swooped onto its dying back and turned to fix his nonchalant gaze upon them.

"So, kids. What's the situation?"

I couldn't help the feeling that bubbled up within me, a mix between happiness and relief and a bit of unwarranted hatred.

_**Levi.**_

_**A/N: **_Yeeees I realize Levi didn't come in 'til later. Roooooll with it, rooooooll with it.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I have a lot of thank yous to give out, so I'll do them now while I'm thinking about it! NightWindAlchemist, RandomChanneh67, and Tonma17 are my newest followers and I'd like to thank you profusely for the support! Also, shout out to Caigdimo, The Unseen Mystic, bernieeebear, and Ayrim for favoriting! Eee, this is so exciting, thanks!

**PS:** My song inspiration for each story is "Say Something" by A Great Big World (without Christina o.e). So thank them for my muse.

_Chapter 7_

"You're going to put him on _**trial**_?!"

It had been a few days since the attack. After Levi's little rescue, the trainees as well as Commander Pixis all regrouped to formulate a plan to close the wall again using Eren's ability and a giant stone just big enough to cover the hole. Armin created most of the plan, and it seemed he was the strategist among the group. He was so young, yet his intelligence was uncanny (in my opinion; it appeared his comrades really believed in him as well). The Garrison were the ones to watch him while the plan was initiated, and it had originally gone awry with Eren actually attacking the soldiers (namely his friend, Mikasa). But once Armin put him into focus, by stabbing him might I add, everything kind of fell into place.

Until the Military Police got involved and arrested Eren under the jurisdiction he could be dangerous. It made sense, of course, considering the military went as far as to arrest _me_, but he was just a _**kid**_. He was probably just as afraid as the rest of them of what his body can do, and they weren't even giving him the benefit of the doubt.

So I could see why Hanji was upset by this situation. Putting the life a child on the line like that seemed rather excessive, even if he did have the ability to change into a titan. He used that ability to good use; and like with all great responsibilities, there had to be caution and risk or else he could never display it.

"Hanji, if he is a bane to humanity—"

"Clearly he isn't!" she interjected before Commander Erwin could finish. "He's a child with a gift and we're squandering precious time with research by-by-by—"

"By making sure that he is under some type of control, and that he isn't going to put the remaining members of humanity at bay." Her shoulders sagged as she listened to her commanding officer, not at all in agreement but not in a position to argue. "Besides, I would rather test him over the walls than withhold a trial, to really put his powers to good use. But that decision isn't up to me."

We were located in Dot Pixis' office, which was pretty large but considering he commanded the largest branch of the military, it made sense. Two other Garrison members had joined us, as well as Armin and Mikasa. By the look on Mikasa's face, she was just as irate about everything as Hanji, if not more so. From what I understood, Mikasa and Eren were adopted siblings and very close.

I knew that if anyone ever put my own brother's life, Daniel, in jeopardy, I'd surely be banging on doors and getting something done.

The only reason they had brought me in here was because I was still under Hanji's care, and where she would go, I would follow. I also was a witness to what occurred, though there wasn't much I could offer. Standing beside Levi, the hand on my arm picked at my white scrub as I watched the scene develop.

"Goddamn Military Police!" Hanji cursed, pushing away from Pixis' desk, as she'd been leaning against it, and walking across the room. "Getting in the way of everything! There has to be something we could do or say to save that kid!"

"I have a plan." Erwin's voice rumbled throughout the entire room, and everyone focused on him with anticipation. "And it will be implemented during the trial. I'm going to talk with Eren Jaeger first, however, before I do anything surely."

All we could do was nod in agreement. It seemed whenever Commander Smith had a plan, one just kind of let it happen without argument.

Hanji was begging Erwin to reveal a hint about what he planned to do or say to Eren Jaeger, but he was adamant on keeping it a secret. I brought my hand to my mouth and yawned, my eyes tearing up.

"Let me take you home," Levi said, his gaze not looking at me but his comrades arguing. "No point in staying here if you don't have to."

I subtly pointed to Armin and Mikasa, who were also consumed with the verbal tussle before them. Levi simply shook his head. "They have to be interviewed still. As do you, but I assume your recount is similar to theirs." I nodded and he motioned for me to follow. I dared a single glance back, just in time to catch Armin's eyes watching me leave.

He looked so horribly sad and puzzled and… _young_. My heart felt heavy for him as I walked away.

In the streets, the aristocrats were scurrying about, gossiping and staring at Levi like he was one of two things: a savior or a threat.

"This Eren Jaeger fiasco really has caused a lot of noise," I said softly, keeping my pale hands folded before me. "Poor kid."

"You feel sorry for him."

It wasn't a question so much as a direct statement, but I answered anyway. "Yes. I imagine he's as afraid as everyone else, and asking the same questions." When he was asked by Pixis about his ability, he genuinely sounded just as lost as the rest of us.

"He's still a risk, Rosemary." I couldn't help the way my heart thumped hard in my chest when he said my name, and I didn't dare look at him lest my expression reveal my embarrassment. "And as long as that fact still remains, there's nothing to feel sorry for."

I couldn't help but notice just how blunt Levi was, no matter the situation or who was involved. It admittedly was rather annoying but also reassuring. He wasn't afraid to tell someone just what he was thinking and feeling, and that type of honesty was rare, no matter what time period I happened to be in.

"I can't help it," I told him, my voice barely a whisper as we stopped in front of Hanji's door. My gaze met his and I inhaled roughly before going on. "He looked so… _pitiful_. Like a lost puppy." I shrugged. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize for how you feel, Rosemary." _**Thump, thump.**_ "You've nothing to feel sorry for." He bent down and tentatively reached under Hanji's dirty old entry mat for her spare key then tossed it to me. "Unlock it yourself."

I stared at the grimy key in confusion before looking back at him, raising an eyebrow. "What, afraid of cooties?"

He didn't answer, only stared at me. That was confirmation enough, and I felt my face grow hot as bubbles of laughter tried to erupt from me. I sucked in my lips and quickly turned my body away from him and to the door, fiddling with the key, though it was hard to see passed the tears forming in my eyes—the tears of laughter.

"_**What?"**_ he growled, bending down to see the side of my red, freckled face. I shook my head so my white bangs would cover more of my cheeks, though the shaking of my shoulders gave me away. "You think it's funny?"

I couldn't keep it in; I fell into a fit of giggles, dropping the key in the process. I had to lean against the door to avoid falling down—which I was sure Levi would have appreciated.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just—really?" I wiped my eyes, sniffled, and continued. "You fight those disgusting titans over the walls and you're a germ-a-phobe?"

"Just because I deal with wretched beings doesn't mean I have to be one as well." He looked me up and down, narrowing his eyes further.

_Oh, really?_ "**I'm** not disgusting," I retorted quickly, my smiling face vanishing into something more menacing—I hoped.

"I didn't say anything, you did." He pointed at my feet where the key lied, beckoning me to pick it up. "Get inside before it gets too dark for me to see my way home."

Grumbling, I obeyed, finally unlocking the door and entering Hanji's home. I was about to slam the door in Levi's face when he stopped it with his hand. _This dude is too fast!_

"Can you do me a favor?"

I rolled my eyes, glaring back at him. "I know, bathe—"

"No, _**idiot.**_" His hand rested on the door handle, twisting it around nervously. "I need you to trust that no matter what happens in the trial tomorrow, it is for the right reasons."

I blinked, utterly confused. "I don't know why I wouldn't trust Commander Smith's judgment."

"Just promise me so I can leave." His voice withheld that familiar "harsh-yet-not-harsh"ness it'd been exhibiting as of late.

With a sigh, I nodded. "Fine." My face softened as I looked up at him. "And… thank you for walking me home."

"Yeah, well. Don't mention it." With that, he shut the door in my face, leaving me to my lonesome.

And to feel terribly alone.

_That son of a bitch._

Why did I bother to ever feel an inkling of nice feelings toward Levi? And more importantly was this part of Commander Smith's plan all along?

_**To beat the shit out of some teenager?**_

I stood in one of the balcony areas overlooking the courtroom, my hands on the railings and turning them stark white to match the button down Hanji gave me. I gritted my teeth together and all I could see was red yet somewhere deep down the most rational part of my brain told me to keep myself calm. One false move with my emotions and I'd be traveling by the speed of light right back home. And I was sure my disappearing under the Scouting Legion's watch wasn't going to help anyone's case.

Eren had been arguing with the Military Police about their cowardice and how they dared to accuse Mikasa of being a titan-shifter as well when Levi came in. His foot made contact with the young boy's face so hard it made at tooth fly across the room. No one stopped him at first, and he continued to make the boy's face his own personal soccer ball. The rest of the Scouting Legion, even Hanji beside me, seemed so calm as they watched the display unfold.

"_This may be personal opinion, but I feel brute force is the most ideal way to train a person." _

Despite his honesty, I still felt my respect for him dissipating out of my body and onto the concrete floor at my feet.

"L-Levi," the Military Police's Commander, Nile Dawk, finally spoke up, lifting his hand as if in surrender. "Don't you think you're going a bit too far?"

_**Yes! **_The only time I would ever agree with anyone in the Military Police.

"Why?" Levi grabbed the boy by his hair and lifted him to face the Military Police. "Aren't you going to experiment on him anyway?"

He had a point, but I still didn't believe it warranted him using violence to prove it.

Erwin raised his hand to retrieve the Judge's attention. "I would like to place Eren in Corporal Levi's custody. He is most capable of dealing with him if he becomes out of control."

The Judge turned his gaze to Levi. "Can you control him?"

Levi shrugged. "I can kill him, if that's what you're asking. I don't know if I can do any less." He looked over at Armin and Mikasa, the girl appearing as if she were ready to tear Levi's head straight from his neck.

I didn't blame her.

"Then I have come to a decision."

**A/N:** And while I was writing this I noticed I got another review! Thank you very much!


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

I didn't want to see, or hear from, or do anything of the sort in the same general vicinity as Levi for a few of days. Which was fine, considering now he was gathering together his fancy squad to watch over _**one damn teenage boy.**_

I didn't understand it. I never would, but there wasn't much on my part to be done. Just to sit and watch.

Hanji was elated. As I sat at her table, a book before me, she was writing animatedly at her desk. I could say with utter confidence the sweaty odor filling the room was her; Levi had gotten onto her about the fact she didn't bathe or even change clothes every day, but she didn't really seem to care how much he nagged her. If I didn't care too much about my own hygiene, I would do the same simply to piss him off.

Sometimes, I caught myself wondering if Eren was alright or if he had anyone to talk to in that fortress located in the middle of nowhere. It would be safe to assume, really, that the answer to that question was a solid "no", but I still hoped. He was just a kid, after all, no need to make him feel alone.

Something was slammed onto the book I was reading, startling me and forcing me to look up at the culprit. "Read it," she demanded, bouncing on her toes. "Tell me what you think."

"What's this—"

"I'm glad you asked!" she said, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards. "It's going to be my proposal to test Eren Jaeger's powers before we take him over the wall."

That was wise. Though I did believe Eren only wanted to use his ability for good, there was a chance he was like me, where he didn't always control it. This could also serve as training for him, and I could support that.

"Why do you want me to read this, though?"

"Because you're thinking about it." My eyes widened at her statement, puzzled. "What I mean is, I can see that you've been reading a lot of titan-related literature lately. More so than before you started staying here."

I shrugged, a little embarrassed to be caught. "I just… was wondering—"

"If the books have anything about it? I'm glad you're researching for the both of us; I hadn't had a chance to look through them myself." She pat the pile of papers proudly. "Three days of editing and enhanced arguments."

She hadn't bathed in three days? Had she eaten? I wished to have been more observant to help her out, but she didn't look like she cared anyway.

"Do I… have to read it now?" I asked, taking my thumb and index finger and lifting up each individual piece of paper carefully, as if my touch would make them vaporize into thin air.

"Nah, not really. I just wanted someone to talk about it with." She smiled fondly at me, her expression… so _bright_.

I shoved my book toward her and sighed. "Well, all I can possibly offer is that I'm confused and a little frustrated." Then in a softer voice, I admitted, "And I feel bad for Eren."

"You really care about that kid, don't you?" She rested her chin on the back of the chair, her brown eyes focused on me.

"He looks like a little trouble maker, a mischief maker. Not a criminal." I shrugged, biting my lip a moment before continuing. "Kind of like my brother, you know?"

"Ah, so that's it." Her grin widened then. "I can assure you, Eren really is in the best care."

I nodded solemnly. "I hope you're right."

….

"Are you sure it's alright to bring me along?" I asked two days later, sitting atop my own personal horse near Hanji.

"You are surrounded by the crème de la crème when it comes to the Scouting Legion, my dear Aer," Hanji said with that smile I was growing very familiar with. "You're completely safe."

"That wasn't my question," I said flatly, but she wasn't listening. She was too focused on reviewing the plan with Eren and Levi.

I didn't care whether or not I was safe. I cared more if Eren was truly alright with whatever was going on. He didn't seem too bad off, now that I looked at him, but I couldn't help but feel concerned for him all the same. He was still a _kid_.

"Alright, let's get into positions!" Hanji hollered, motioning for me to move my horse toward the picnic table across the field. When I arrived there, I heard her yell, "Lower the boy!"

A thick rope had been tied around Eren's waist to hoist him down a well. Then the soldiers dispersed, Hanji and Levi still on their horses and the woman's hand in the air, holding tightly to a signal gun. When all was eerily quiet, she fired off a single shot, the sign for Eren to go ahead and transform.

Several minutes ticked by. No explosions of light or sound erupted from the well like I had expected, not like the last time I witnessed him shift. Levi and Hanji dared to look closer, and I could see Hanji being taken aback by what she saw. Hopping off my horse, I slowly led her back to the group, tilting my head and shifting my gaze between each member. Petra, Erd, Gunter, and Auruo—Levi's hand-picked Special Operations Squad—looked just as confused as myself, which didn't help the matter at all.

"Bring him back up," Hanji ordered, sounding horribly dejected. She got off her horse and walked into the forest, her shoulders slumped forward and her head hanging low. Even though I didn't like the idea of testing on Eren, I also didn't like to see Hanji—or _anyone_ I cared about—upset like that.

_Can't win for losing._

"Let's break for tea," Levi said, also getting down from his horse and leading him to where the others were, eating grass and sniffing amongst one another.

Following after him, I opened my mouth to speak but he held up a hand.

"Look for yourself."

Glancing back at Eren, I did a sudden double-take. His hands and mouth were covered in blood, as he needed to inflict a wound upon himself to change. But… he was coated in bite marks yet nothing happened.

So that was why Hanji had been so disappointed: Eren couldn't change. He did as he was supposed to, so what gives?

"I'm sorry."

"Will you quit apologizing for everything?" he demanded, petting his horse and allowing him to lick his hand. "You can't do anything. But I'll make damned sure that Eren does." He left me alone then, going over to Eren who was staring idly at his tea, his face sagging.

"Oi, Eren."

The boy lifted his face to meet his leader's gaze. "Yes?"

"I'm not out here to waste my time. Make sure to make _it_ happen."

"Yes, sir."

With gritted teeth, I left the horses alone and went to sit across from him, giving him a soft smile. "You tried your best, you know."

"Yes, but it's not good enough."

I shrugged. "Better to have tried than to have not tried at all."

This seemed to lift his spirits a little, as indicated in those sea green eyes of his. "Thank you."

"Maybe the titan shifting is only temporary?" Erd butted in, taking a sip of his tea.

"At any rate, we still wasted our time," Auruo countered, crossing his arms and looking away from us—at Petra next to Levi. I noticed, as well as the others, that Auruo had this need to kind of mimic Levi's mannerisms. It was partly sweet, but mostly creepy.

Eren's face fell again, eyes on his tea. I glared at the two men to shut up; no reason to make him feel worse than he already did. He reached for his spoon, but due to the pain in his hand, he ended up dropping it on the ground.

"Oh, I can get it for you—"

"N-no, ma'am," he stuttered, giving me a sad yet reassuring smile. "I will. Thank you." He reached down, but his expression changed for a split second before—

Before I went flying away from the picnic table, my back making hard contact with the grassy field. Smoke filled the area and for a second I couldn't see Eren anymore. I ignored the pain behind my chest, knowing exactly what it was but not caring for it right now. My eyes scoured the thick smoke for Eren before I saw his hair through the dark screen, Levi and his squad surrounding him.

"Calm down," I heard Levi say, and I watched as he stood between his squad and Eren's titan arm. _How come only part of him had transformed? How could he control his power like that?_

"Corporal!" Petra called, stepping closer. "You're too close!"

"No, _**you**_ are," he argued, still staying put. "Get back and lower your weapons."

"Why are you doing this now, Eren?" Erd demanded.

"Explain yourself, Eren!" Auruo growled, his voice echoing through the field.

The young squad members all started to yell at the boy, Levi serving as the only shield between him and them. Finally, having had enough, Eren screamed right back, _**"Can you just shut up and let me speak?!"**_

Before any of the members could say anything in return, a loud **"YAHOO!"** could be heard within the forest and then Hanji's familiar footsteps became louder as she joined us. "Eren! Eren, can I touch that arm?!"

"Hanji, please! Wait—"

Instead of listening to him, she reached her hands out and pressed them against the muscly exterior, screaming in pain as she fell back from it with a wide smile on her face. "It's really hot! It's really damned hot!"

"Squad Leader!" Hanji's second in command, Moblit Banner, hollered over her yelling. "You're being too reckless!"

"H-how does it feel!?" she asked him, ignoring Moblit entirely.

_That poor man._

"How does it feel where your hand connects with the arm?!"

I joined Moblit's side at this point, pressing a hand to his back and simply shaking my head. There wasn't much he could do when it came to Hanji's research. He just had to bear it and watch.

"My hand…?" Eren's eyes fixed on the area where his hand was buried within the titan arm. Then he started pulling himself away from it, pressing his feet against the hard body to give himself leverage.

"Eren!" Auruo called. "Don't do anything reckless!"

Eren wasn't listening, of course, and had managed to release his hand from the large arm, falling flat on his back against the soft field.

"_**No!"**_ Hanji screamed, and it took both me and Moblit to hold the woman back so she wouldn't touch the arm as it evaporated. The searing pain in my chest screamed in protest, but I ignored it. "I still had so many things I wanted to research!"

"Hanji!" I yelled over her, trying to restrain her so she wouldn't jump around so much. This caused a shot of lightning to erupt in the area right where my ribs were and I let her go, stepping away. I didn't want anyone to worry about me right now; besides, I was a nurse. This was nothing.

_Right?_

….

Hanji had forced me to go to a hospital as we were arriving home. She noticed how I was leaning on my horse and demanded to know what was wrong. And then Levi gave me a stern talk on taking responsibility for myself lest I slow everyone down and blah blah blah. I didn't really listen. It was a speech I'd given to patients before, nothing new to hear.

That, and I still wasn't his biggest fan.

Now all patched up, I sat at Hanji's desk with a book on my lap, the chair I sat upon making me feel more uncomfortable than ever. It wasn't more than a bruised rib, but it still hurt like a bitch no matter how I positioned myself. I had them wrap me up appropriately, but it made it almost impossible to lift my left arm. _Good thing it's not my main one._

Hanji had left to reveal her latest little tidbit of research to Erwin and her findings to Squad Levi a few hours ago. Since she was gone and out of the way, I decided as my book grew more boring to clean up a little, starting with the little area she provided for me. It took a while to get upstairs, but once I arrived all I felt like doing was collapse onto my bed and never leave.

Ever.

Instead, I cleaned out the pockets of my nurse scrubs to wash them, making a note to hit Hanji's bathroom and bedroom next. My hand reached for something in the right pocket that felt like paper, and when I lifted it and held it near the candlelight, I gasped a little.

_**Samiel's card.**_ I swore up and down I had thrown away, but evidently…

"What's that?"

I shrieked in surprise, dropping the card and my scrubs onto the floor. "W-what?"

"That thing you just dropped on the floor, _**idiot**_. What is it?" Levi leaned against the doorway to my room, arms crossed and grey eyes narrowed in my direction.

"Ah, nothing. Nothing at all." Even as I said it, I reached down to pick it up—too quickly. My chest heaved in protest and I shot right back up again.

"Let me get that for you—"

"N-no!" I said, a little too loudly. So what did he do?

He picked it up and opened it.

"Wait, I haven't even read it!" I tried again to reach for the card, but he pulled it just out of my reach—which wasn't by very much, since my body didn't want me to do any type of stretching whatsoever.

"Samiel…" He glanced up at the ceiling in thought then nodded. "Ah, that asshole from before."

"I was going to throw it away," I explained, as if I truly needed to explain myself to Levi at all. "That's why I never opened it. I didn't really… want to." I shrugged, a little embarrassed, and lowered myself on my bed. "But, uh… what does it say?"

He held the card out for me and I took it. "Read it yourself. Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

The front of the card was a picture of a bouquet of bright purple rosemary. Flipping it open, there was just an apology note within it, everything he'd told me in person now written out in pen. I threw the card on the ground and shook my head, looking to the wall opposite Levi. "Yeah, it was."

The silence between us felt heavy and I wanted nothing more than to be alone when feeling like this. I felt stupid and vulnerable and I didn't want anyone to really witness that.

Instead, Levi sat down beside me, his hands folded and his elbows on his knees. "I'm bad at this sort of thing," he admitted, and I couldn't help but bring my eyes to his as he spoke. "But I can reassure you they're not all like that—like him."

"I—" I had to clear my throat of the knot that formed there. "I know. He was just… my first love. So I kind of expected more of him than I should have."

"That is bullshit." I gaped, shocked by his harsh voice. "You shouldn't lower your standards no matter how many assholes cross your path. Remember that."

"Even if those assholes are volatile and prone to violence against young adults?" I joked, looking down at my hands.

What he did next I didn't expect at all.

He lifted a hand and trailed it gently through my bangs, and my gaze fixed on his in both fascination as well as confusion. He brushed the hair that had fallen over my shoulder onto my back, his fingers lingering on my neck before he nodded once, standing up and leaving the room. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I heard the sound of the door slamming downstairs.

_What the Hell?!_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Buenos días, Ayrim! Muchos gracias y tu inglés está bien! :* Also I would like to thank dark angel vs light angel and .114 for favoriting and ChrystalSapphiremoon for following!

_Chapter 9_

After what happened last night, I didn't feel too positive on how I would deal with seeing Levi again. The very thought made me nauseous, but… not in a bad way. I didn't know much about him, however, so whatever I felt toward him, or started to feel toward him, needed to end.

And quickly.

I still coped with the recent break up with Samiel as well, and the fact I still didn't understand why Time and Space chose me of all people to travel here. I served no purpose and kind of took up space. And as Levi had lectured me about before I'd been admitted into the hospital, I was potentially applicable to slow everyone down. In a time when being on one's toes meant the difference between life and death, I was just a bane on their already difficult existence.

They planned their next expedition quickly, and I saw almost no sign of either Levi or Hanji. She worked day in and day out on her experiments and tried to gain some more information about the titans and anyway to apprehend them without actually killing them. I still didn't support chaining them up and holding them within the walls like rabid dogs, but I understood the necessity behind it.

Four days before they were scheduled to leave for their newest expedition, Hanji came home early from her experiments, looking uncharacteristically disappointed, slouching forward and avoiding eye contact with me. She asked me to review her notes before she left, and I was trying to fight my way to the end of the pile when she arrived. Turning around to face her, I was about to apologize for not finishing my reading, but she didn't even seem to know I was there, that I existed at all.

She went straight to her cupboard and pulled out a bottle of red wine, popping it open and drinking straight from it. She slammed the bottle onto the table and gave a small growl, then a sob. A small cycle continued until she finally bashed her head on the table and didn't remove it for quite some time. I grew worried that she may have developed a concussion, but she placed her cheek on the table to face me and said in a soft voice, "Sawney and Bean are dead."

I blinked, my mouth slightly open. "_**Dead?**_ Why?"

"Some shitface decided to kill them. A soldier, of course. They're investigating it now." She wiped her face, though I didn't see any tears on it in the first place. "I can't **wait** until they find the culprit." The expression on her face filled me with so much fear I had to look elsewhere.

I knew some people were extremely uncomfortable with having titans within the walls, and that one mishap would have them wreak havoc on the entirety of humanity, but from what I understood, Hanji had them enclosed in their own little area and it was under constant surveillance. That was another thing: someone had to have seen it, so why was there an investigation?

I decided to give Hanji some space; she didn't like to be supervised while drinking, and Moblit would be over to break that rule any minute and take care of her anyway, so I wasn't too worried about her. Outside, hands in my pockets, I contemplated who could possibly want the titans dead? Rationally, anyone who had a vendetta against a few titans probably had a motive, but they had to see the usefulness behind Hanji's experiments—or so I thought. I wasn't even from this time, yet I could see why she had to put herself and a few soldiers at risk for the sake of research.

My forehead made contact with someone's shoulder and knocked both of us to our feet. I rubbed my head as I opened my mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry!" My eyes had to focus on my surroundings due to how dark it was. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"What did I tell you about apologizing all the damn time?"

_**Levi.**_ My heart felt like it was about to burst at the sound of his voice, and I kept my gaze and face turned away from him lest he could read it.

He seemed the type of man who was _too_ observant for his own good, which at this point in time I definitely wasn't alright with.

"Get off me, _**idiot**_."

I braced my hands against the concrete and pushed myself up and away from him, giving us both some space. "You know, I have a name." Why did he insist on constantly calling me "idiot"? I felt I had enough intelligence to be promoted to something more appealing.

Like, say, my actual name?

"Because it's fitting."

I clamped my teeth together as the courage to finally look him in the eye mustered forth with full force. He didn't flinch under my gaze, of course, but I liked to think I appeared menacing.

"Are we done? Wanna move out of my way?" he asked, crossing his arms.

_The nerve of this guy!_ "There's plenty of street for you to move around me, _**Corporal.**_" _Did that sound spiteful? Well, good. _"But if you're going to behave like such a _**princess**_, I'll gladly move out of your way." My back straight and chin up, I marched around him—only to be pushed hard toward the sidewalk.

The last thing I saw was a loose cart barreling down the road, right toward where I had stood and Levi on the other side of the street staring only at me.

Then I was sucked into that _goddamn_ portal.

….

Three weeks passed. I waited and waited for Time to take me back to the year 850, but it never did. I was thoroughly convinced that He-Who-Controls-The-Portal developed the common sense to discover I really wasn't the one they needed to time travel. Levi's face constantly replayed in my mind, in my dreams, the look of worry and fear—of someone who cared about another person. My heart hoped for it, yet my mind rationalized as every other possible thing. That, and why did I care?

I rolled back into the routine of work, home, shower, eat occasionally, work again, all while impatiently expecting to be pulled 1500 years into the past. By the time my birthday, Valentine's Day, rolled around, I completely gave up on the idea and had started to move on.

Arriving home after work that night, all my lights had been shut off. That was strange, considering I usually kept my foyer light on. Flipping the switch, I screamed in panic at the mass of faces staring at me expectedly.

"Surprise!"

A slew of confetti and balloons were thrown at me, and I ducked to protect my face, still shaken by what just happened.

I felt a familiar, thin arm wrap around my waist pulling me close to her. "You're off pretty early, girly. I wonder why?" Misty giggled and gave me a wink before pushing me further into the crowd.

Two faces eerily resembling my own popped out at me and I nearly fell over and squealed in joy. "Mom! Daniel!" I bent down to pick up my seven-year-old brother and then stood to embrace my—taller—mother, unable to contain the tears that built up behind my eyes. "When did you get here?"

"We flew in yesterday. I will have to admit, it was very hard not to get ahold of you while we were here, even if it was a day." She gave me a warm kiss on the cheek and wiped both of them with her thumb, tears now out of sight and out mind.

I set down Danielle and squat down—only a little, he was growing up much too fast—to his level. "And how's school for you, kid?"

"Just makin' straight A's, the usual."

"And getting into mischief," my mom added with a chuckle.

"Oh, the _**usual**_," I joked, standing up again. "Let me change and I'll be right back."

"Hurry up!" Misty called after me. "We're making this an apartment-wide event! Grilling and salad bar on the front lawn."

_My best friend is trying to get evicted_. I was too excited to care, however. Quickly, I curled the ends of my hair, threw on my little red dress and white heels, and ran out to meet them downstairs, locking the door behind me. You never knew; the crazies tended to come out during parties, after all.

It was two hours of reminiscing with my family and trying to make sure Misty didn't turn into a drunk mess in front of my mother. During the cake-cutting, my brother thought it would be cute to try and smash my face into the icing—and epically failed, landing his entire arm into the white mess.

I led him back upstairs and into my bathroom, turning on the water and having him remove his (_**"BRAND GODDAMN NEW" **_as my mother put it) button down.

"You are **so** grounded when you get home," I teased, helping him rinse off his arm.

"Yeah, it was still worth it. Woulda been even better if you just followed through with my plans."

"Well, how about for your birthday, you give me an extra big slice so I can slam my face into it?"

He raised his free hand in a small shrug. "That's all I'm askin'."

After giving him one of my own shirts—despite his complaints of how "girly" it looked on him—I followed after him back to the party.

"Wait, I forgot to lock my door. Go on without me." He rolled his eyes at me and went on outside, slamming the complex's door behind him. After making triple-sure my door was, indeed, locked, I walked down the stairs to join the party only to trip one of my heels against the carpeted staircase, falling forward.

Things happened in slow motion: the stairs came closer and closer to my face, my arm extended to brace my fall (as a nurse, I knew deep down this was a bad call) and then that familiar white hole opened out of nowhere and swallowed me up.

I tumbled around, still moving as if time was on the verge of stopping, until I finally broke through to the year 850.

Or so I hoped.

I was in someone's bedroom, but not in Hanji's house. The walls and floor were light grey stone, but the only way I could tell that was from the fire dimming catty-corner to where I'd fallen. A desk and a chair, one dresser, a bedside table, a bed, and only then did I notice the person sitting on it.

He had a cigarette in between his fingers and his head in his hands. Did he even know I was here? Cautiously, I stood up, pressing a hand to the heart beating erratically in my chest.

"L-Levi?" I said softly, my green eyes unable to look away from him.

He lifted his gaze to meet mine and my entire chest crumbled into a million tiny pieces. Anguish, guilt, heartache, utter sadness all rang upon his usually expressionless face. Without thinking, I crossed the room until I was in front of him, my arms circling his shoulders and pulling him into a gentle embrace.

"What happened?" I asked in a soft whisper against his hair, having bent down to press my cheek upon his head.

"They're gone." His tone did not reveal the turmoil that played on his features. "Petra, Auruo, Erd, Gunter… The mission… it failed." He flicked his cigarette but didn't bring it to his lips to take a drag; maybe due to the girl kind of blocking his mouth, absolutely not on purpose. "I wasn't there to protect them. I wasn't there to make sure they were safe. I wasn't…"

"You tried your best, Levi," I reassured him, one hand making massaging circles on his upper back. "I know you did. You did what you could, and that's all anyone could ever ask of you."

"But things should have turned out differently." He brought his other hand to rest on the small of my back and he squeezed gently, his face pressing more into my chest. "It wasn't part of the plan…"

I leaned back a bit so our eyes locked; I needed him to fully grasp what I was about to tell him. "Things can go awry. Things can go the complete opposite of what you intended. But you have to keep moving forward. Your team would have wanted that of you, I know that for a fact. They fought outside those walls, knowing they could die any second, because you had confidence in them and they wanted to live up to that. And I know they fought proudly, and you have to _keep_ fighting just as proudly for them, Levi."

I wasn't usually one for motivational speeches, but the look on his face just called for it and I couldn't just sit on the other side of the room and watch him fall deeper into a pit of despair. His eyes shone, and I swore a tear had started to form but it disappeared before I could even confirm it.

He didn't respond, just rested his head against my shoulder. We remained like that, quiet and together, for I didn't know how long before exhaustion overtook us both.

**A/N:** This was actually going to be longer but I ended up deciding to put it into a new chapter. I'm going to acknowledge other reviewers and new favoriters and followers in that chapter as well :3 Stay tuned.

**PS:** Sorry this was so late. I'm in management in retail, so during the holidays I was kidnapped for hard labor.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you, MeAFanfictionGirl and OniAya for favoriting my story! And thanks for following, ZoeyRageQuits. Also, MeAFanfictionGirl, thanks for commenting for a continuation! This one's for you then :P

_Chapter 10_

The next morning, I awoke shivering from the brisk cold. Had I forgotten to turn on my AC? Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I recalled the events from last night and felt my face heat up. Slowly, I looked down at my body and felt relieved to see my dress still on me. Removing the blankets from my person, I threw my feet over the edge of the bed and instantly regretted it. I wracked with shivers as the cold of the frigid morning consumed me, and I tentatively pulled the blanket over my shoulders in an attempt to warm myself quickly.

_Where was Levi?_ I walked over to the door, still covered up, and hesitated at the door knob. The second I decided to open it, it twisted on its own, so I stepped back to allow whoever through. Of course, it was Levi with two cups of what smelled like lemon tea in his hand. He handed me one without a word and then went over to his desk, sitting down and immediately picking up a pen to write.

Going back over to the bed, I sipped my tea and indulged in its warmth before I dared to speak. "Are you… feeling better this morning?"

He abruptly stopped writing, and I anticipated him to glare at me or yell something obscene or simply call me "idiot", yet… he only slouched back, still not looking at me. "Kind of. Better than I probably was going to be."

Was that… a compliment? With Levi, it was always hard to tell.

"I'm glad to hear that. And… And I know you hate to hear it, but I really am sorry. For your squad. How's, er, Eren?" He never said he'd died during the expedition, so I held out that at least he was safe.

"He's taking it hard, I know, but he's pulling through. He has his friends to keep his spirits up so…" _So do you,_ I wanted to say. He had Hanji, Erwin, and even me, if he wanted to consider me a friend. We had to be something if we shared the same bed last night.

"Good to hear." As silence fell between us, I took the opportunity to sip more of my tea and think of what else to say.

He beat me to it. "How was your trip?" Now his head lulled back to face me, his eyes appearing bored as usual. "How's the future?"

"Ah… Alright. I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday so…" I shrugged. "Same ol', same ol'." _**The usual,**_ my mom's voice rang in my head, and I had to fight the smile that tried to form on my face.

"Happy belated birthday, then," he said, removing himself from his desk to set himself beside me. "Though it kind of got ruined."

"No, not at all." I handed him my cup to place on his bedside table and gave him a reassuring smile. "I was waiting to be—" _Taken back here._ That probably wouldn't have made any sense to him, but it was the down-home truth. "—kidnapped."

"This is becoming the norm for you." He didn't bother to form that into a question, only to make that into a straight forward statement.

"Yes, but I… I'm okay with that." Now my smile brightened. "I've… developed a home here. And even though it can be dangerous, I lo—like it. A lot."

He didn't say anything for a while, and I didn't want to risk making things more awkward by looking at him. After a few minutes, he stood, rubbed his hand in my hair roughly, and strode toward the door, stopping with his hand on the knob to speak. "I'm being summoned for some reason or another by Erwin downstairs. You're welcome to join us, but you have to change first."

I nodded and waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hall before moving from my spot. The only closet currently available was Levi's, and I assumed that was where he wanted me to get my new set of clothes. I could have gone to Petra's room but… it was far too soon.

_Wait, how long ago did the mission take place?_ _Was it just yesterday? Today? Last week?_ Time had a tendency to place me on different dates from my own, usually right back where I left off. So I was way in the future there, about a month, and a month backwards here?

My head hurt.

I slipped on some camo green pants and rolled them halfway up my calf then found a plain white long sleeved shirt, also rolling up the sleeves since they covered my hands. Wearing heels was probably out of the question, so I found a spare pair of dark brown loafers and then left his room, folding my dress and leaving my shoes by the desk chair before leaving.

Instead of joining Levi and Eren—even though a large part of me wanted to see if Eren was alright—I hid myself inside the fortress's study. Something told me that, even though Levi invited me to join him, I wasn't exactly welcomed in a conversation like that. It would be full of talk regarding military tactic and the like and I wouldn't be able to follow along.

Searching aimlessly, I sat in a section regarding space and star alignment. Picking out a random book, I fiddled between the pages, scanning over sentences and phrases but not actually reading anything. All I could think about was Levi and the look on his face last night, and how Eren had to be taking all this as well. Still, I stayed with my decision to remain here until called.

Apparently, I fell asleep in the middle of reading about the constellations in relation to zodiac signs and their accuracy to people, for someone had nudged me in the side with their foot—_**hard.**_ I let out a growl and lifted my head up slowly, hoping to whatever deity lay above that there was no drool dripping down my face. Someone was looking out for me, for when I went to wipe my face it felt dry.

"Wha—" I cast my eyes up to meet Levi's. He looked… tired. **Old**. Like he needed another cigarette.

"I'm sendin' you back to Hanji's," he informed me, extending a hand to help me up.

Now on my feet, I couldn't help but comment, "Getting tired o' me already?" Sleep made my words slur slightly, and my vision blurred around me, but I was cognitive enough to give him a quip before stumbling passed him.

"Don't be an idiot," he mumbled under his breath, following after me. "She just wants you close for the next couple of days due to some plan Erwin has."

I stopped in my place, completely awake now. Turning on my heel, I gave him my best glare. Of course, it didn't faze him in the slightest. "What plan?"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty," he joked in that same monotone voice, accompanying the statement with an eye roll. "We're just working on some revelations. At any rate, it's bound to get dangerous, so she's taking precautions. We all are."

"So she wants me at her place for a couple days," I repeated back to him, not to ensure I had heard him correctly but to make it clear that his vague behavior had me suspicious. He caught it, but said nothing, just turned me right around and made me pack the few things I had in his room.

"About last night…"

_**Shit.**_ I hoped and prayed he would just let that go and pretended it didn't happen. But that would be my luck. "Hmm? What about it?" I pretended that re-folding my clothes was more important than looking at him; my red face would give away just how much I _didn't_ want to have this conversation.

"Thank you."

I waited. And waited. And _**waited **_some more. I expected some type of smart-ass follow up to lighten the mood, but none came. My heart hammered a hectic beat in my chest, and only when I calmed down slightly did I dare to look back at him.

He was across the room, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and eyes glued to the wooden floor. This made him just as uncomfortable. Picking up my dress and shoes, I smiled as sweetly as I could, hoping it didn't look at all as awkward as I felt. "You're very welcome, Levi. I was glad to have been here."

Now his expression changed, if only a miniscule amount, to that of shock, maybe confusion. "Oh? Why is that?" His voice held a lace of defensiveness that I would expect of him.

"Because…" _This is embarrassing. _"Because I… Even under the circumstances, I was glad to have been there for you. It was a good way to end my birthday."

"Right, your birthday."

Nothing further was said at all, and I made my way out the door without looking at him again.

….

It felt like an earthquake had erupted underneath my feet, making Hanji's entire house shake and rock. It caused statuettes, books and dishes all to come tumbling to the ground, glass raining all over the wooden floor. The earthquake would quiet down, but then it would build up and erupt so abruptly I hardly had time to react.

I hid underneath a table that was on the verge of breaking underneath the weight of Hanji's now-broken chandelier, my hands over my head. Keeping my emotions in check to avoid traveling was a feat in itself yet I managed, pressing my eyes closed and trying very hard to push the world around me as far away as possible.

Someone grabbed hold of my wrists and pulled me from under Hanji's table, a scream escaping my lips.

"Shut up, _**idiot!**_" he growled, tugging me toward the door, but not allowing us to exit until he surveyed the area. "We don't have time for you to be playing hide-and-seek."

"I wasn't doing it on purpose!" I snapped back, my eyes narrowing at my counterpart. "What's going on? Did titans break through the wall?" We were inside the innermost wall; if that were the case, we truly were doomed.

"**No**. Don't ask questions right now, Rosemary. Just grab on." When Levi said my name like that, it was like some deep part of me couldn't help but obey. I wrapped my arms around his neck, much as I had Jean's though this time I was more painfully aware of our proximity, and held on as tightly as I could.

Flying with Levi seemed different than with Jean. Though Jean used the 3DMG very well, Levi ducked and dove and soared in a much more graceful way. I could see the city within every single angle in just a matter of a minute, and it was horrifying as well as breathtaking. At the sight of the church completely shattered, the blood and bodies painting and decorating it, I had to look away, burying my eyes into his shoulder and closing them again.

"Where are we going?" I asked against his collarbone.

"You're going to safety," he answered simply, though I looked back to stare at him incredulously.

"I asked where _we_ are going. What about **you**?"

"I got another agenda, Rosemary." Even though he should have been focusing on whatever was ahead of him, he met his eyes with mine and locked them. _**"Trust me."**_

So I did.

He set me down on a roof nearby and slightly above Hanji and Erwin and their little brigade. They had gathered on a large bridge overlooking the inner city, and I was puzzled as well as disheartened by Erwin's expression. He just looked… shocked. Angry. That air of leadership still could be sensed, even from my elevation.

"Be right back." Before I could protest, Levi was gone, flying toward Eren's titan body—and to that of another titan he had pinned underneath him.

Hanji had told me what had happened during the mission, what had made Levi so tremendously troubled. A titan they identified as the Female Titan had wreaked utter havoc on their mission. It'd killed a lot of soldiers, including Levi's squad, and even almost made off with Eren after he had shifted into his titan form. Thankfully, Mikasa and Levi had been around to apprehend him and take him back home, though it meant the sacrifice of leaving some of the soldiers' bodies behind.

_But now they had her pinned._

Or so we thought.

A bright light flashed from the back of the Female Titan's neck, melting Eren's titan form into it. Eren cried out in pain, pulling himself away but to no avail. That was when I saw a speck of a human fly in and cut the nape of the male titan's neck open, revealing human-Eren within.

Annie Leonhardt. I didn't know much about her, nor did I care to. If she had done this damage, if she truly had killed that many people and brought so much devastation to people I cared about, there was nothing more I wanted to know about her. Sure, there was probably a reason; there was always a reason. Yet, I didn't believe it would justify what she did.

"You shouldn't be doing that with your leg injured," I whispered as I walked up to Levi's side.

"Someone had to save that self-sacrificing retard," he retorted, though not in his usual harsh voice. "Let's get her to headquarters," he commanded the other soldiers before turning on his feet and leaving the scene.

_Always walking away without a word._ I had grown to expect that behavior from him at this point.

….

The moon shone so bright tonight, making me feel nostalgic and lost in my own thoughts. A lot had happened to me in a very short amount of time, and sometimes I felt as if it were a dream. I waited with dread and anticipation to wake up one morning and find out all of this wasn't true, which would have left me in a pit of… well, despair.

I had grown fond of being here. I loved the relationships I was starting to develop: there was Hanji, Eren and his band of misfits, Commander Erwin, but especially…

"You're going to end up falling forward if you keep looking at the sky any harder."

My heart gave an erratic thump before calming down and I dared a glance at him. He was staring up at the nighttime sky as well, his hands in his pockets and just looking… **radiant.** There was no other way to describe him.

"Time'll catch me. He always does." Quicky, I added, "What are you doing here?"

"Hanji said you'd snuck away to be here, so I decided to keep an eye out on you."

"Why do you do that?" I asked with more acid than I had intended. More calmly, I said, "I'm not a child. I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that." After waiting for him to answer my question, I gave up; he made it clear he had no intention to.

Once drowsiness started to consume, I knew it was about time to creep away from the roof and inside to my warm bed. Standing up, I swung my legs over the edge and back onto the ceiling's paved top, trying my best to steady myself.

_**Here we go.**_

My upper balance was what set me up for disaster, the ledge of the roof my only leverage—but of course, failing. Levi's hand grabbed hold of mine, but he came falling with me.

**And right into that goddamn portal.**

**A/N:** Cliff. Hanger.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hey, TwoMoons17, SaraTheAngelic and year of the panda! Welcome to the party! Also, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend (who calls herself Izzy on the internet heh). This story is based on her OC and I finally had the courage to show it to her! She loved it, yay!

_Chapter 11_

I couldn't keep my eyes off him during the entirety of our descent, one hand laced in his. His own gaze stayed upon me, and I didn't know why but I felt vulnerable underneath it. It was frightening and exhilarating and—

We crashed through Time and into my living room, the place absolutely trashed. Standing up quickly, I surveyed the damage to see if anything had been stolen during my absence; nothing. Then I checked the digital clock on my television's cable box for the time and date.

3:45 AM on February 15th. So it literally dropped me off a few short hours after I had traveled. I really wouldn't be able to get used to that, no matter how many times I did it.

Then I remembered: Levi. Levi was in my living room. Levi was in Los Angeles. _**Levi was in the year 2014.**_

Turning on my heel, I bent down to help him up but he was already making his way to his feet, dusting himself off. "This place is filthy, who lives here?"

My blood, already red-hot from the recent events, only boiled over at his little comment. "It's **mine**."

"You should clean this shit up." He didn't look at me anymore, just sauntered into my kitchen and started searching around. He made an _**"ahh"**_ noise as he leaned down to look inside a cupboard, producing my Windex, a feather duster and floor cleaner.

"Levi, now is not the time to be doing this." I joined him and snatched the Windex away before he could reach for it again. "We have to figure out how to get you back to your time."

He sighed softly, shrugging. "I had already processed that sort of thing isn't up to you, now is it?"

"Well, no—" _Goddammit, Levi._ He had a point. "I mean, we still have to try. Aren't you freaking out even a little bit?" I slammed the bottle of blue cleaning solution back onto my marble kitchen countertop and placed my hands on my hips.

"I don't see the point in panicking over something that is out of my control. So we may as well make use of our time while Father Time is allowing us here." Without bothering to listen to any further arguments from me, he grabbed the feather duster and went right to work. "Start picking up pieces in your carpeting."

He was not going to order me around in my own house. And how could I be the only one ready to keel over because of this random turn of events?

And more importantly, why the Hell did he think I was going to do any type of cleaning at almost _**four in the morning**_?

"I'm going to bed," I stated then, swiveling on my heels to leave him. "I have to get up for work in two hours. I'm going to utilize that time with sleep."

"You're still going to work?" he asked, and something about his voice made me look back.

"Well… yes. I have to retain some sense of normalcy, after all." With that, I was gone and in my room.

Of course, I did not sleep. I was wide awake as I thought of all the possible wrong things that could occur while Levi was in my time period. I couldn't bring him to work with me, as I was sure he would spend the entire time cleaning up after everyone. No, now that I really thought about it, going to work right now was probably a very bad idea.

My alarm went off and I slammed for it to shut up before mechanically sitting up, my joints screaming at me. I must have been stiff on my bed, for my senses felt like they were on a thin wire as well. Quickly, I made my way into the living room to see if he was still cleaning.

He **finished**.

Not only was my living room spotless, but my kitchen, hallway, and even bathroom resembled sterling perfection.

Now Levi lay with his face in my couch, the feather duster still grasped in his hand. _Cute_, I mused, my face warming at the sight of him. Instead of waking him up, I figured now would be an ideal time to call in sick and take a shower. I would take the write up if I had to; didn't really bother me, considering my current situation. I had bigger things to deal with.

My boss yelled at me and threatened my job, and I almost decided to go in. But I had to stay true to my decision and abruptly told him it had to do with some "women problems". That shut him up right quick and I took the opportunity to hang up on him.

Next came bathing. Looking at how sparkling clean my bathroom was, I didn't want to ruin it with the sweat and dirt clinging to my skin. But I assumed Levi would understand.

I hoped.

I showered quickly, brushing my hair and teeth under the running water so as to not waste anymore time in the bathroom than necessary. Stepping out, I wrapped a towel around my body and made a leap for my bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind me.

And screamed at the sight before me.

Levi was going through _**my stuff**_. When the Hell did he even wake up?

"Get out!" I yelled, stomping over to him. He didn't appear to have flinched by my presence or by the fact I was yelling at the top of my lungs. He seemed more concerned with the contents of my closet.

"You have terrible taste in clothing." He fiddled with one of my scrubs, my favorite pink one covered in fluffy white kittens.

"That's **none** of your business!" I snatched it away from him and hid it behind my back. "But if you must know, most of this is for work. It's my uniform."

"I would sue for harassment and defamation of character." He finally left the room after that statement, and only when I knew my door was shut and I was left alone did I allow myself to breathe.

What if he had gone through my underwear drawer? There was nothing in there except boy shorts, an exercise bra, a couple of regular bras and a shit-ton of socks—and somehow, that seemed more embarrassing. When guys in my time scavenged through a woman's underwear drawer, they probably expected sexy and secret things, not the Plain-Jane pieces of fabric I sadly wore on a daily basis.

_I'm too vanilla for anything else,_ I realized feebly, collapsing on my knees with a pair of boy shorts in my hand.

Now in dark jeans and a light sweater, I exited my room and wished I had a lock for it. Levi was in the kitchen, as indicated by the sizzling noises from my stove, so I entered with caution. What I didn't expect was the sight of him flipping fried eggs in a pan.

"You can cook?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. Can't you?" By the look of chagrin on my face, he took that as his answer. "No, didn't think so."

_Excuse me?!_ "What, you don't think I can take care of myself?"

"How often **do** you eat?" he countered instead of giving me a direct response. "You're very thin, even for your height."

This guy, of all people, would not discuss height with me. He was merely six or so inches taller than me, hardly a difference. "I eat… when I think about it."

Scraping the contents of the frying pan onto a plate, he handed it to me and said, "Well, now it's on your mind so eat it."

If it didn't look and smell so good, I would have thrown it right away. Grabbing a fork, I disappeared into the living room to eat, taking slow bites to savor the taste. _Damn his skills! This is amazing._ But I wouldn't dare tell him that. Maybe I'd include it in my will or even my tombstone.

_**Here lies Rosemary Evelyn Aer, who had the best fried eggs of her entire life.**_

_Sounds about right._

"How long do you stay in your own time?" he asked me, joining me on the couch and messing with my remote. It seemed he still needed to figure out how to use it, but I was too preoccupied with my breakfast to help him.

"It varies. Sometimes a few hours. The last time it was three weeks. I grew… scared." Finishing my meal, I headed to my kitchen to wash the plate and put it away before going back. "But it's best not to think about it. Come on, let me at least show you around before we have to go back. I have a few people to visit anyway."

He managed to turn off my television before standing up and heading in the opposite direction of my front door.

"Where are you going?"

"I could at least use a shower, _**idiot**_. I just cleaned your filthy fucking house."

_This is why I hate you._ But I didn't argue with him, just sat right back down and crossed my arms impatiently. When he finished and put on only the button down and black pants he'd been wearing, he followed me outside and to my mailbox. There were a couple of letters, but nothing I needed to read now. Probably just birthday cards. I thought of taking my car, but instantly scratched that idea. I had seen too many movies where the person from the past went completely ape-shit because of being exposed to too much modern technology. Though Levi probably wouldn't react as irrationally, I still didn't want to risk, maybe, stunning him comatose or something.

Not humanity's strongest hero, nope, not a chance.

"What's over there?" he asked, pointing to an expanse of sand across the busy Los Angeles street.

"The… beach?" What did he mean, _"what was it"_? "Have you never—" Then it occurred to me: all that reading I had done at Hanji's house revealed that humans hadn't been outside the walls, or that far outside, in over a hundred years. "Oh. You haven't." I stared at it, then him, then grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him along.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked in that usual harsh way of his.

"The beach, stupid." I pressed for the right of way for the crosswalk and waited what seemed like an eternity for the light to change. We ran quickly before it changed back on us; LA drivers did not care who was in the road, as long as they got from point A to point B on time. At the wooden boundary before the ground was strictly sand, I slipped off my shoes and left them at the entrance, inviting Levi to do the same.

"Won't our feet get dirty?"

"You'll see. C'mon." He relented and followed suit, allowing me to lead the way all the way to the ocean shore. "Go on, step in it."

"The water?" He looked absolutely incredulous at my suggestion.

"Yes, the water. I'll join you." Rolling up my jeans' legs, I slowly placed my feet into the frigid ocean, the waves trying their best to knock me back onto the sandy shore. "It's safe, Levi. I promise."

He didn't look at all convinced, but he put his left foot, then right foot into the water, standing stiff against the current.

"See? Not so bad at all, huh?" I smiled reassuringly at him, bending down to press my hands against the sand beneath the blue. My handprints formed for only a moment before washing away, but it brought a smile to my face all the same. I felt like a kid again, rediscovering the ocean through the eyes of someone I—

I didn't want to think about it.

"Maybe you can show the others this back in your own time," I told him softly, daring to look back at him after a long silence. "You know, when you defeat the titans."

He was watching me with those intent grey eyes again, making me stop breathing. Had he been staring at me the whole time?

"Levi?"

"Thank you." There he went again, saying those two words at such an unexpected time.

"For what?" I rubbed my hands together to get the excess sand off of them before brushing my hair over my shoulders. "I didn't do anything except, well, bring you trouble."

"No. For this, _**idiot**_. For bringing me here." He cast his gaze back out into the ocean, his eyes growing as far away as its depths. "I used to ask myself what it would be like to come here. I had a friend who was much like you, proud and slightly annoying and very clumsy, who wanted to know what lay beyond the walls."

"_Had a friend"_ usually indicated said friend was actually dead, but I dared to ask, "What was her name?"

"Isabel." He still didn't look at me, but continued to speak. At this point, I didn't believe he was in the same place as me, but very far away. "You see, I wasn't always a very important individual in the military. Instead, I was a thug who led a gang of thieves in Trost's underground city."

"A thug? Like a criminal?" So that was the impression I got from him when I first met him. It made sense, and I grew a little more wary of him right then. "What did you do?"

"Just stole shit, snuck above ground and took money, killed people. I became renowned above and below Trost and grew a criminal record the size of a church." He made an ironic _tch_'ing noise. "Erwin and his little friends found me and forced me and two of my friends into the Scouting Legion."

"So you don't really care about the sake of humanity?" I asked, my faith in him slowly dying.

"I do **now**. I didn't **then**." He blinked slowly and focused his eyes on me, his expression much softer than before and the wind blowing his raven hair out of his face. "Just took a little time."

I didn't comment, just stared at him in absolute awe. When I mustered the courage to say something, I went with, "Well, I'm proud of you. And I'm sure many others are as well."

"I guess." He tilted his head slightly behind him and said in a low voice, "He's been staring at us for some time now, I hope you know."

Confused, I whipped my head back to see just who he was talking about—and just about fainted. _**"Shit."**_

"What? Who is that?"

"My **ex**."

**A/N:** Oh look, another cliff hanger bye.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hey, The Name Is Greed! How ya doin? And thank you to Ayrim and year of the panda for reviewing! 8D

_Chapter 12_

My initial reaction to seeing Samiel was, well, **run**. Run as fast as possible and to not look back. However, we were in the open and we had nowhere to hide; besides that, the only exit was right beside where Samiel stood, awestruck by the sight before him.

Did this guy seriously have the right to be surprised that I was with someone else? We'd broken up because he cheated; I was more than entitled to see other people.

Yet, I wasn't _seeing_ Levi. Time and Space just had this ugly way of messing with people and their lives by dropping them off wherever He pleased.

I shuffled out of the water and slowly toward him, trying to think through a million different phrases to say, yet none of them felt right or appropriate. Maybe I should just wait and let Samiel lead this one. Or take the opportunity while he was momentarily stunned to cut and run.

"Hey," he said, his voice low and soft.

"Heya," I squeaked back, my hands firm on my sides. My back felt warm and moist, but not because of the bright sun above us, but because I felt the need to explain myself to someone who did me wrong.

_I really am an idiot._

"Hello." That was neither of our voices, but Levi's, and I turned around with wide green eyes to stare at him. _Please don't say anything stupid, _I begged with my gaze. "I am Levi." He didn't lift his hand to shake Samiel's, usually a very bad way to introduce oneself. Something told me Levi didn't care about formalities, though.

"Samiel. Pleasure." He nodded in acknowledgement then fixed his dark gaze on me. "You know everyone's freaking out, right?"

This caught my attention. "What do you mean?"

"Your mom, brother, Misty. They've been blowing up my phone. Apparently you went missing last night?"

_Oh, __**shit**__._ I pressed a hand to my forehead at my blunder. "Yeah, right. I… I just slipped away and lost track of time."

"Do you not have your phone on you?" Samiel's voice took a harsh turn and in response I grew defensive. "You should be more responsible."

"Don't talk to **me** about responsibilities, Samiel." I clamped my mouth shut and walked passed him, grabbing and dusting off my shoes. _This is so embarrassing._

"Is this who you went disappearing off with last night?"

That statement got me fired up and I whipped my whole body around to snap back at him. But before I spoke, someone else beat me to it.

"That is uncalled for and, furthermore, none of your business." Levi's voice was calm, yet ice laced each word he spoke. With his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulders rolled back, he continued. "From what I understand, you would know better than probably any of us on this beach about disappearing with random strangers, so I'm unsure if you're one to talk."

My mouth gaped. I could hardly believe Levi defended me. _**Me**_, an idiot girl who seemed to get herself into trouble left and right, and who he gave so much shit for it.

Samiel's fists balled up, and I was almost positive he was about to hit him—which, judging by Levi's slight shift in stance, the other man anticipated—but he cooled down and just shook his head, a displeased and defeated look on his face. "Whatever. Just call your damn mom back. I'm out." He stomped to the opposite end of the beach we were at and blended into the crowd.

After slowly putting on my shoes, still processing what just happened, I turned to Levi and said in as solemn a voice as I could, "Thank you. I really appreciate what you did for me."

"Yeah, well. Don't make a big damn deal about it."

But Levi didn't understand, that _**was**_ a big deal. I would make it up to him later, though. Right now, I needed to get back into my apartment and let my family know I was safe and sound at home.

I grabbed my phone and called my mother first—one simply did not simply allow mother's missed phone calls to go on the back-burner.

"_**Rosemary Evelyn Aer!"**_ she screamed into the phone, and I could hear Daniel's laugh in the background. "If you weren't a grown ass woman you would be grounded for a month! I want you to explain yourself immediately!"

My mom yelled loud enough for Levi to hear, and that twinkle in his eye indicated he enjoyed every minute of this.

_Asshole._

"I-I will. Can I come over?" I asked in a feeble voice.

She paused for a second then said, "The Hilton near the Boulevard. You have fifteen minutes, young lady." Then the line went dead.

"Gah, I wanted to avoid driving," I grumbled, stuffing my phone into my pocket. "Well, I'll give you the choice of staying or going."

"I'm going. I want to watch you cower in fear at the sake of your mother."

_Fine,_ I thought as I grabbed my car keys, eyes narrowed. _I'm going to watch you scream your damn head off at the sight of Los Angeles traffic barreling toward us._

But he didn't, to my dismay. He kept his arms crossed and eyes out the passenger side window the whole time. Once at the hotel in question, with three minutes to spare, I called my mother to get the room number. In the elevator, I leaned against the cold mirrored wall, sighing heavily.

"Do you not like visiting your mother?" Levi asked, shocking me into focus.

"No-yes-I mean, I like to visit my mother, not it's not that." Standing up straight and watching the numbers go up, up, up, I said, "I don't like to make her worry. 'Cause, like…" Here came the sob story, the one I hated talking about. "When I just entered college, and my brother was barely a year old, my father had been asked by this big truck company to drive across the country in just a few days. My father had been in the business for a while, so it made sense to ask him. Though we hated it when he left on such risky trips, money was tight, especially with me in Med school so… He went. And he didn't come back when he was expected to." I tightened my hand around the opposite arm, not daring to look at him; he probably mocked me for acting like such a baby. "We never got a phone call, but we found out about it over the news that a truck, his truck, had slammed into a ditch. And that's the end of that." I wiped under my eye quickly, trying to hide the fact I was crying. Though it'd been five and a half years, it still hurt. "So I hate to scare her because I don't want her to ever think that I'm gone forever and it—sorry, it's stupid."

"No it's not." He pushed himself off the metal railing and stood in front of me, bending slightly to be at my level. He pushed my silver bangs from my face and brushed a thumb under my other eye. "You're allowed to feel heartbroken by loss, Rosemary."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the elevator door opened and I stepped away to give us space. That, and I felt slightly embarrassed. Most of the time, Levi was a complete douchebag. He was rude, horribly blunt and took the lead in matters where it wasn't necessary. But those tender moments, those pulled at my heartstrings more than ever. When he spoke about his past, when he talked to me with that soft voice that vibrated all of my nerves, that was when I really couldn't deny the feelings bubbling up within me.

_I am falling for Lance Corporal Levi._

Leading the way to my mother's hotel room, I knocked on the door and braced myself for a whiplash of angry words and disrespectful hand gestures. However, my brother answered with a smirk on his face.

"You're in _**troublllllle**_," he sang, then called over his shoulders, "Mom! Your badly behaved daughter is here and—" He looked at Levi with narrowed green eyes, appearing suspicious. Blowing his light brown bangs out of his eyes, he added, "And she has a friend."

"All the more to embarrass her. Bring them forth."

"Did your mom just say—"

"Just roll with it," I interrupted him, moving around Daniel and into the living room. "Hey, momma."

"Don't you 'momma' me. Where were you?" Her own green eyes cast between me and Levi. "And who is your, uh, guest?" A look of horror replaced her previously irate face. "Don't tell me that you've been sneaking around all this time? You're pregnant, aren't you—"

"Mom, no!" I screamed. _Just stop talking! _"N-no! I'm not pregnant! And I am not sneaking around. This is Levi. He's… he's a friend from when I was… in school."

"School. Right. Before I dropped out to pursue a life of crime."

_I'm going to kill him,_ I vowed in the back of my head, staring at him incredulously.

"At least you have a steady career, unlike that awful man she was involved with."

"M-mom! Are you serious? You didn't like Samiel?" This news actually confused me, to say the least.

"Not at all! He was pompous and only talked about himself and how he was working so hard to make your life better. Really?" She scoffed, taking a sip of whatever concoction was in her teacup.

My mother worked in our hometown as a café owner. We lived in a little college town, so it was particularly popular with the students, her main business. Our little home was right upstairs, and I visited my old bedroom once a year to celebrate Christmas with my family. I didn't bring Samiel with me, but she'd been up a couple times during our six months together to see me—and had met him in the process. During those times, she had been nothing less than nice to him, so I was horribly confused to find out she really didn't like him.

I was also confused by her statement about him "only talking about himself" but I'd have to think more about that later.

"So how about you, Levi? Do you plan on taking care of my daughter?"

"She can damn well take care of herself," he responded with so much confidence I really had to give him some props.

"Good answer," my mom said with a nod of approval. "He's a keeper, Rosie."

"B-but it's not like that!" I told her quickly, raising my hands defensively.

"Aw, Rosemary, I thought we were getting pretty close." His face held that same cold expression, but that sparkle in his eyes revealed he had way too much fun teasing me.

_No, you're going to die, you son of a gun._

"She's so hard to please, Levi. Don't mind her."

"Tell me about it."

So the entirety of my visit with my mother was pretty much Levi pretending to be my current love interest, and the two gushed about how much of a pain in the ass I was. Daniel started to join the conversation, and I could only hide my face in shame as they both started going into embarrassing stories based in my hometown.

Now back in my apartment, I stomped into my room and slammed the door behind me, pressing my back against it.

"You're mad," he called, and I could hear the fabric of his shirt rub against the white wood between us. "I want to say I'm sorry, yet I'm not."

"I _**figured**_." My voice broke, and I realized then I had started to cry. Like I wasn't humiliated enough. "You seemed to be having too much fun saying horrible things about me."

"Horrible things?" He sounded genuinely puzzled. "I never said those things about you because they're horrible."

"I—" _How the fuck am I supposed to respond to that? _"I don't understand."

"Can I open the door?" He didn't wait for me to answer, but turned the knob and allowed himself in. He walked over me and knelt in front of me, his expression unchanged but the aura he was giving off definitely serious. "You're annoying, loud, a little reckless, but they're not bad things. I, _**fuck**_." He pressed a hand over his eye and averted his gaze as he went on. "I **like** them about you, Rosemary."

I couldn't speak, I couldn't even _breathe_. Did those words really just leave his mouth? But he didn't give me a chance to say anything back, for he stood up then and rubbed my hair roughly as he left.

"Get to sleep. You have bags under your eyes."

"I-I can't when you say things like that!" I still had my back to him, unable to actually turn around for fear of his expression. Bravely, I stood up but still didn't face him. "You go back and forth all the time, and I never know what you're thinking and it… it drives me crazy!" My eyes clamped shut as I dared to continue. "You're rude, you say some really crude things no matter who you're speaking to, it's so hard to tell if you're happy or sad or amused unless I'm staring at you like an moron but I—"

_Should I say it? Should I confess the feelings I'd been fighting against for quite some time now?_

He grabbed hold of my wrist and forced me to turn around, and my eyes instantly cast up to meet his. "You **what**, Rosemary?"

The air between us was thin, making it so hard to breathe yet I had to say the words that hung on the tip of my tongue.

Tears started to run down my face, but I couldn't help it. I was filled with a tornado of emotions and I had given up controlling them.

"Levi I… I **love** you. I love that you're a clean freak and that you sometimes speak so bluntly and that you call me an idiot. I really, _really_ love you."

No response came for some time. I felt my heart try to beat straight out of my chest as I awaited in anticipation for a response. With Levi, I learned to expect the unexpected, but in this situation, I wasn't sure what that would be.

"You really are an idiot." But instead of letting me speak again, he leaned down and pressed his lips gently against mine.

He tasted like firewood and cigarettes and a mix of the green tea my mother had served him; it was the most divine mix of flavors I'd ever experienced and I did all I could to commit it to memory. I melted against him, my chest pushing on his to be closer. I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, his tongue licking between my lips, asking for entrance. Allowing it, I snaked my arms around his neck, a soft moan escaping from the back of my throat.

I pulled away quickly, burying my face into his shoulder, chagrin red on my face.

"You didn't like it." He actually sounded disappointed.

"I-I did. I just… I'm a coward. I'm sorry."

One of his arms wrapped around the middle of my back and the other laced under my knees, picking me up gently and carrying me the short distance to my bed.

_I'm not ready for this! _I thought in a panic. _I'll disappoint him if we—_

But what happened next wasn't at all what I expected. He simply placed me on top of my sheets, covering me up and then going around to sit on the other side. "I'll stay here until you're asleep."

"You can stay with me… if you want." My hand slipped over to his and grasped it. He squeezed it back and didn't let go.

This was enough to lull me into a dreamless sleep, a stupid little smile on my face.

**A/N:** However you're thinking this is going to go, it's not. Heartbreaking moments are about to ensue, _huehuehue._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** To the guest who last reviewed: please don't kill me TT-TT Here is an update ok calm CALM

_Chapter 13_

My eyelids fluttered open and slid over to the clock on my bedside table. 5:37 AM. About twenty more minutes before I even had to get up. I slept so soundly, last night's events didn't even come back to until approximately five minutes later: then they hit me like a semi-truck.

Pushing myself into a sitting position, I ended up throwing myself off the bed entirely, slamming the back of my head against the floor. I groaned, rubbing a hand over the tender spot and leaning against my other elbow.

"Rosemary?" Levi's voice called, and I heard him get off the bed and his footsteps come toward me.

What the Hell was I supposed to do about Levi? I freaked out only because—well, I just didn't know what to do at this point. Were we supposed to hold hands and skip through a field of flowers? Were we supposed to go out on romantic dates and talk about our futures? I felt almost positive, however, with Levi still having to go back to his own time and defeat the tyranny against humanity, neither of those things were actually applicable couple activities we could do.

Levi helped me to my feet by pulling on my arm, then turned me around to survey the area in which my other hand covered. His long arm moved passed my head to switch on my light and then he took a closer look. "At least you didn't bust anything open. Sure as Hell sounded like it."

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, swallowing hard. "Did I wake you?"

"Kind of." Following his statement came his arms wrapping around my middle, causing my heart to stop completely in my chest. "But you'll be leaving soon anyway, right? So I may as well get up too."

I let out a soft, contented sigh as my body melted into his, my face warming up to his embrace. "I have to shower," I informed him after a few seconds of peace.

"Yeah you do."

I spun around and out of his hold to glare at him. "That was rude!"

"I'm nothing if not brutally honest." He ruffled my hair and walked around me to the kitchen. "Hurry up or you won't have time to eat."

Opening up my closet, I grabbed a purple floral scrub, white pants and a white long-sleeved shirt, then slipped into my bathroom and shut the door behind me. Brush in one hand and toothbrush in the other, I started my morning routine as quickly as I could, never one to really like wasting time with tedious things such as doing one's hair or even standing in front of a mirror while one brushed their teeth. After a quick rinse under the water, I slithered out of its warmth and into the cool air, reaching for a towel and wrapping it tightly around my body. I dressed as quickly as possible, fighting with my hair as I exited the bathroom.

"You always make that face when you're doing your hair," Levi commented from the living room, a cup of coffee in his hands. "Why don't you just cut it?"

I shrugged. "I've considered it. I just don't know how to wear it, so I just deal." I ate quickly before grabbing my keys and wristle. I came over to him and tentatively placed my hand on top of his head. Did I kiss him good-bye? If so, where? On the cheek? The lips again?

As if reading my mind, he pulled me down slowly and claimed my mouth in his before releasing his hold on me. "Be safe."

….

I went for lunch at my usual little coffee shop, a small hop in my step. I couldn't help it; my mood soared and for a rather apparent reason. I wanted to say that because I dated Samiel for six months, my experience with this was pretty high, but I knew Levi was in no way, shape, or form resembling of Samiel.

That _excited_ me.

Back at the emergency exit gates, someone with bouncy bleached blond hair and angry eyes stamped her foot impatiently for my arrival.

_Misty. __**Shit.**_ I completely forgot to get ahold of her. But after last night's events, I was just too… preoccupied to call her. That wasn't an excuse, and certainly wasn't fair since Misty was here before Levi, but still…

"Hey—"

"**Stop.**" She raised a hand and snatched my mocha, drinking it slowly as she glared at me before handing it back. "Alright, now go."

"I'm sorry. I snuck off and lost track of time. It's not alright, what I did, and I'm sorry—"

"According to your ex," she interrupted again, crossing her deeply tanned arms, "it was because of a guy."

Samiel spoke to Misty? He brought up Levi?

_**Wait a minute!**_

"You and Sammy are on **speaking terms**?" _Doesn't that go against girl code or something?_ I narrowed my green eyes suspiciously, trying to give my gaze as much intensity as hers. Unfortunately, my being almost a foot shorter than her probably didn't help so I promptly gave up. That didn't stop the negative energy undoubtedly emitting from me.

"We had each other's numbers in case we couldn't get ahold of you, duh. Now spill. And make it fast, you only have three minutes until your lunch is over."

With hot cheeks, I went over to the rickety, rusty bench beside the hospital and made room for her before I dared to speak. "H-his name is Levi. And… we met… kind of by chance." More like I was in the middle of his squad's mission and he rescued me from a bigass cannibal, but details, details. "We didn't really click at first. We picked on each other a lot—" More so on his part. "—But then we… I don't know, we just _are_ now."

That was the best way to explain our relationship. I could still be annoyed with him, I could still not stand his presence every now and again, but I found myself looking his way and really _**seeing**_ him, and each time that happened I would fall a little harder. Things just _were_ between us.

"That… that is confusing." She sighed softly, rocking back and forth before nodding in approval. "But I saw that stupid smile on your face, so I guess he can't be that bad." She nudged me in the side playfully. "And I gotta give him props if he can manage a **loudmouth** like you."

"He literally just said the same thing about me yesterday to my mom." _Among other things._

"Oooh, already meeting the parentals. And your mom thinks?"

"He's a 'keeper'." I rolled my eyes, though deep down, I couldn't help but agree.

"Alright, welp, looks like I can, in fact, forgive you." She pushed herself to her feet, rubbing her sore ankles around the strap of her heels. "But after your first date or whatever, you better report to me first or we're not friends anymore."

I simply made an "OK" sign and chuckled as I made my way through the sliding glass doors.

….

Entering my home, I found Levi still glued in front of the television, legs crossed and gaze hilariously serious.

"You're going to ruin your vision if you're exposed to too much TV," I scolded, putting down my bag and sitting beside him. He was watching a cop drama. "Do you like this series?"

"Shush, **woman**, or I won't hear who the killer is."

Standing up, I called, _"The woman in the red coat did it"_, before rummaging in my fridge.

"_**Dammit!**_" I heard him shut off the television and march up to me. "You ruined the ending!"

"Yeah well…" There was something wrong with his face, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"What are you staring at? Do I have something on my forehead?" He blew at his inky black bangs, closing one eye so air wouldn't irritate it, and that was when I noticed it.

"Dark circles." I closed the fridge and reached my pale hands to cup his cheeks, a concerned expression lining my own features. "Levi, are you sleeping?"

He removed himself from my grasp and walked away, turning to my bedroom. I followed after him and grabbed hold of his wrist, holding with all of my might this time.

"Are you alright?" I squeezed reassuringly; I wanted him to know that I truly was there for him.

"I can't sleep, Rosemary… Not… not real rest, anyway." He still didn't turn around to face me, and something about the way he said my name didn't send shivers down my back like before. It was almost like a wizard uttering a curse.

"Why? Are you having bad dreams?" I released my hold on him, wanting some type of space now. It was like this layer of ice was starting to form between us and was growing thicker and thicker with each statement spoken.

"I keep thinking of _**them**_. How are they? What are they doing? Are they still alive?" He growled, leaning against a nearby wall. "I should be with them, and I'm not."

Just this morning, he was holding me so tenderly, now he couldn't even look at me. _Because this is my fault. I brought him here._

So I needed to send him back.

"Alright." Now feeling resolute, I walked passed him and into my bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at it—no, glared, my hands balled into fists and my legs spread apart like I was about to start a fight.

And I kind of was.

"What are you looking so ridiculous for?" he snapped, staring between the mirror and me. "Are you practicing or—"

"Shut up!" I yelled then concentrated again. Taking a deep breath, I decided to take initiative with Father Time; he was taking a little too long, not only as far as I was concerned, but where Levi was concerned as well. Lifting a fist, and using as much strength and force behind it as possible, I slammed it against the glass, shattering it instantly.

_**And revealing a white portal.**_

It tried to snatch me up, but instead I reached for Levi and pulled him to me. "Go home!" I called over the howling wind. "Go save humanity, Levi!"

He didn't respond, just gazed with wide eyes at the hole growing in my bathroom mirror. Then with a firm nod, he turned his face back to me and said solemnly, leaning down to my ear, "Don't take too long."

Ah. So he knew I didn't intend to follow him. Nothing truly got passed this man, which was another trait I loved and hated about him.

Releasing my hold on him, I grabbed hold of the bathroom door, hiding half my body behind it as I watched Levi climb onto my sink and enter the portal. He glanced back at me one last time, his usual serious expression lining his face yet… yet there was something else.

**Gratitude.**

_You're welcome, Captain Levi._

Then he was gone.

Sliding to the tiled white floor, I brought my bloodied and scratched hand to my face to observe the damage. I punched harder than I'd thought, but I didn't feel any pain. My heart felt like it had been torn up more than my injured knuckles, and with my face buried in my uninjured palm, I allowed the emotions that had been playing within me to finally flow. My body wracked with regret, love, loss, confusion, anger, happiness, all of it.

_**And all for that beautiful man I never really planned to see again.**_

A/N: IS THIS THE END GEE I WONDER OK BYE. PS Sorry that took so long to update. I had no muse for the story for a minute there but now it's back.

WITH A VENGEANCE BWAHAHAHAHA. And I promise it will get more painful as we progress.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Appareeeeeeeeeeeeeently, FFN servers are not working very well so I'm going to work on another chapter yes good.

**PS:** As usual, I am listening to "Say Something" by A Great Big World (WITHOUT CHRISTINA) and I'm starting to see why this was my musical muse. So put the song on repeat while reading this and try not to cry k? K.

**PSS:** _**GUYS THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN SNK SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA. LOOOOTS OF SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.**_ If you're not at all caught up I suggest you click away now. AND CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT? CHAPTER? 53?

_Chapter 14_

Sleep didn't come for quite some time. Removing my scrubs mechanically, I managed to figure out how to work my shower and recalled how to wash myself before exiting and heading to my room, not bothering to dry myself off. I didn't really feel the wet or the cold afterwards that came with the water anyway.

In an old band t-shirt, I slipped into bed and closed my eyes, opening them again when my alarm went off. _Did I really sleep?_ My body didn't feel rested like it should have been, but no matter. I went back into the bathroom, flinching at the sight of the mirror. Not because I looked like a flock of birds made a home in my long hair, but because of the memories it brought.

_Maybe I should actually start using my vanity from now on._

So the hours went by. I went through my daily routine without even thinking, like a bystander of my own life, and a disinterested one at that. People tried to talk to me, and I forced a smile, maybe even a laugh, but I couldn't manage much else. Not even to contribute to whatever conversation they wanted to include me in. I had work to do, after all.

As the hours, then the days, started to mix together, I nearly missed my mother's take-off flight back to Florida several days later. Meeting her at the airport after work, I hugged and kissed both her and Daniel good-bye—to my brother's dismay, but I didn't care.

I didn't think I cared for anything right then.

My mother gave me a soft, concerned look, her lip forming a small pout.

"Don't make that face. It's just stress, Momma. I'll be fine."

She didn't look convinced, but the woman on the PA didn't give her much of a choice; she had to trust me on this one. She hugged me tight, and in her embrace I almost completely broke down—as most daughters do within their mommies' hugs—but I stood strong and watched them go.

At my apartment, I pressed my back against the door after closing it and took out my phone. Almost a week since I'd seen Levi. Almost a week after I let him go.

The thing was, when I found out Samiel had cheated on me, I was heartbroken. But I didn't feel lost or alone or any of the sort. I bounced back relatively quickly, and after talking it out—with Levi—and even writing it out for Hanji, I really did start to feel fine.

With Levi it was different.

Levi's absence brought about those feelings of loneliness, of losing direction, like I had this path set before me with this other person and now I didn't know what to do. I felt foolish: we had just met only a short time ago, but within that time…

So much had happened. And I experienced those things with Levi. I cried, I screamed at, I argued with Levi, and he made fun of me, he opened up to me, he was so sincere with me and even though he was also brutally honest, those were things about him I cherished. And now the man masking all those things from the rest of the world, save for me who somehow found a way through his barriers, was gone and I was pretty convinced I wouldn't see him again.

That look he had in his eyes before he leaped into the portal indicated he knew that as well.

_**Don't take too long.**_

_I'm sorry, Levi,_ I thought as the first wave of tears started to run down my face. _You're going to be waiting for a little longer than you hoped._

Much, much longer.

Letting myself cry it out since that first night really helped; I felt more… ready to face whatever the future had for me. Pushing myself off of my beige carpet, I went into the bathroom and stared at the mirror I so readily avoided for the past few days. I stared at my reflection, taking my hair down and allowing it to fall around my shoulders and down my back.

_**Why don't you just cut it?**_

_**I've considered it.**_

Quite frankly, I didn't know what I was thinking. A part of me felt certain I wasn't thinking at all, but as my hand grasped the scissors and brought it to the layer closest to the left side of my face, I didn't care.

Silver hair fell onto my floor in a large heap around my feet, and I only stared with true intent at my reflection, not daring to stop what I started. Setting the scissors down, I admired the finished product.

The very tips barely touched my shoulders, and my hair formed small waves as it descended from my scalp to the end of my neck. I touched a strand, and it felt soft between my fingers. Staring at the girl before me… she didn't look like a girl anymore.

She didn't look like a doe-eyed college student hiding behind her thick hair. She didn't look like the girl who'd been dressed in a short dress at a stupid early Fourth of July part. She didn't look like the girl who had fallen for a conceded asshole who had made one too many uncomfortable attempts to get into her pants. She didn't look like the girl who was still hiding behind her best friend's self-confidence.

This was Rosemary Aer, and she now looked like _herself_. A smile, a real smile, formed on my face and my expression softened. Cleaning up my mess and tying my hair into a bag, I made a note to take it to a barber shop for donation later. Right now, I needed to make plans to get out. I needed to show off this woman that had been here all along.

I scrolled to the first name that came to mind. "Hey, can we hang out?" My voice cracked, but I went on. "I need a girl's day out."

"Say no more. Be ready by noon sharp tomorrow and wear your cutest clothes."

"Yes, ma'am."

….

I decided on a denim jumper and a short, short-sleeved faded purple jacket, throwing on a pair of purple legwarmers and white shoes. I stared into the mirror, still feeling awkward with the clothes I wore considering the new hairstyle that accompanied it, but oh well.

Meeting up at the beach's entrance, I knew Misty was there when she squealed at the sight of me. "Look what you did to your hair!"

"Yeah, I know. Hey, can we go to that hair shop down the street?" I didn't want to talk about the fact my hair was… well, almost non-existent, compared to how it was before. "Just needed a change," I concluded as I headed to my intended destination.

"That is one Hell of a change. Did that one dude tell you to do it—" She sucked in a breath when she saw my face change from one of content to pain, though it was literally only for a second. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry, hon. Third time's the charm?"

Only she, my mother, and my brother knew that Samiel—and now Levi—were the only people I'd dated. Ever. So maybe she was right. But deep down, getting over the latest guy was going to be… difficult, to say the least.

Misty pulled out her phone to take a picture. "You look adorable. The whole world needs to see this."

"Do you really have to show your Twitter feed?" I scolded her, shaking my head as I looked both ways for oncoming traffic.

Evidently, Misty didn't have the same idea. As she stepped into the road to get a better angle of me, a sleek, red car came racing toward her. Dropping the bag in my hands, I reached out to grab her, but knew that even then we wouldn't have enough time to miss the quickly approaching vehicle. I rammed my shoulder into her then fixed my gaze on the car, closing my eyes in the hopes it would numb the pain.

When more time seemed to pass by than expected for the impact, I blinked open my eyes warily—and gaped at what I saw.

_**The white of the portal.**_ I allowed it to carry me wherever it so pleased, not even questioning it this time. When the solitary world shattered around me, it revealed Hanji's house. I went flying across the room until my back rammed into someone else, knocking them to the ground. Upon closer inspection of my victim, it was nobody but Moblit Banner.

"M-Moblit! I'm sorry." I pushed myself off of him and extended my hand to help him up. He grabbed it appreciatively and gave me a soft smile. "Did I hurt you?" By that look, I assumed not.

"Took you long enough. We've been waiting over two weeks for you to come back."

So now time was pushing me further ahead than usual? _God dammit!_

"Two weeks?! Wait, why were you waiting for me? I don't understand."

"There's been a lot of changes since your absence." His smile faded a little and he averted his gaze.

"Tell me all about it," I prompted, leading the way through the house that I'd grown familiar with.

"Well, Erwin lost his arm—"

"He lost his what?!"

"How about I just let Hanji tell you. I'm no good at these types of things."

Downstairs, Hanji was bent over her table, a piece of paper in front of her face.

"Bullshit. Bullshit! I still can't believe it…"

"Hanji?"

She didn't hear me. "We gotta make a visit to another district." She looked up from her paper to look between Moblit and myself, registering I had finally arrived. "This won't be a very warm welcome, kid. You ready?"

"Absolutely."

And I meant it.

**A/N:** Still so much more to come.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Atari86, AngelicLuna, and emmy328, vas happenin?! Thank you also to the year of the panda, Ayrim, and bernieeebear for staying so dedicated and reviewing :*

**Warning:** _**MANGA SPOILERS MANGA SPOILERS.**_ If you're not caught up at all with the SNK manga I _highly_ suggest clicking the back button.

I don't really like this chapter at all; it's basically just a filler arc. The end is where the story shifts.

_Chapter 15_

For the sake of authorization, Hanji had me wear a training corps uniform. It felt strange, all the straps—and I was pretty convinced that they would leave a bruise—but I quickly adjusted. Now on a horse, we headed to the district Hanji had been talking about, me staying directly between her and Moblit.

"Squad Leader, can you please give us a little more detail?" Moblit called over to her, though his eyes were forward. "And why did we bring the 104th trainee? I'm sure he needs rest."

He was referring to Connie Springer, who had apparently given word of whatever disturbance had Hanji on edge.

"I insisted on coming," Connie explained, whose young face looked so tired and a little forlorn. "It's my home, after all."

"Even so…" What in the world had happened? Everyone was speaking in code to me. Why were we going to a village so far out of our way? Why did Moblit sound so apprehensive on bringing a younger Survey Corps member with them? The boy had graduated in the top ten of his class, so he should have felt relieved.

Once we arrived, I couldn't help but gape at the damage before me. Buildings were nothing more than rubble, and the people…

There _were_ no people.

Just decayed titan corpses.

I dismounted only when Hanji did, following close behind her. I hadn't been this close to a titan since my arrival here, but even so, I would never get used to the sight of them.

"Where is everyone?" I dared to ask, my voice barely above a whisper. I went to one of the houses' remains and observed the corpse within. Just its bones, nothing more. Not even a sign of blood on the ground.

That was… different. My suspicions rose to new heights as I looked back at Hanji next to Connie, the young man holding a picture frame in his hand. Was that his house? I didn't get too close; it seemed like I would be intruding on something otherwise.

"Reiner knew… I told him I had heard something and he covered it up…" He stared with horror and heartbreak at the titan pinned before him, tears forming in his eyes. "I'll never forgive them. Never." It seemed it took him a lot of strength to hold the picture between his fingers.

Hanji looked away, as if guilty, before instructing her squad to remove the pins within the titan. They did so quietly, then she turned away, looking straight at me. "I have a lot to catch you up on."

….

After Levi had returned home, the Survey Corps—sans Levi for he was still injured in his leg from the Female Titan attack apparently—went on yet another expedition. But they stayed within the walls. There was a breech somewhere along it and their job was to find the hole in question. Even the Garrison got involved.

It was just a few nights ago that the 104th graduates and some of the Survey Corps captains had ventured toward Connie's village and beyond to stake things out, but came up with nothing. However, titans were still roaming within and wreaking havoc. They stayed inside one of the old meeting towers and before they knew it, the place was covered with titans and they had barely escaped.

Ymir, one of the trainees, had transformed into a titan to divert the situation and take the remaining survivors to safety. She had been badly wounded but survived. Upon entering the inner wall, they came across the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan—

And it turned out, it was yet another pair of 104th trainees, Bertoldt Fubar and Reiner Braun. That explained why Connie felt mildly betrayed by the fact Reiner had tried to divert his attention elsewhere when he knew something was wrong. They kidnapped Eren and Ymir, but didn't get too far and were almost apprehended. That was when Hanji, Erwin and his band had arrived to take care of the situation—and when Erwin had lost an arm.

They managed to retrieve Eren, but it had taken a lot of sacrifices. Captain Hannes, of the Garrison, had ended up sacrificing himself to save Eren and Mikasa—who evidently had been taken care of by the man after the death of their mother and disappearance of their father. Many others were named off, but I didn't recognize any of them. Still, I couldn't imagine how such a loss affected them; the only death I'd experienced was my father. I didn't want to know what it would be like to lose so many at once.

At any rate, Hanji had returned to Connie's village because he speculated the worst, which they now felt almost conclusive about after their little visit.

Now we were on our way to the hospital to visit Erwin and deliver the news. According to Hanji, Levi and Pixis were there, waiting for him to wake up, and I promptly opted to stay behind. _"I think it would be best if you came along,"_ Hanji had insisted, much to my dismay. I didn't know why; I was just a witness to already-concluded events, and there wasn't much I could offer. Still, I tagged along, keeping my eyes low.

_Just yesterday you were a more confident woman,_ I scolded myself, _and now look at you! You're being pathetic and unreasonable._ I knew that, but I just couldn't help it. The butterflies within my stomach were making me physically ill and I didn't want to look at anything—or anyone—that would worsen that.

Inside Erwin's recovery room, he was sitting bolt upright and talking with Commander Pixis. I stood against the wall between Moblit and Pixis' second in command, Anka, still not daring to look at the man sitting across the room from me.

"Commander Erwin, Commander Pixis, this is…" Hanji stepped aside to allow Connie to introduce himself.

Saluting, he said, "I am Connie Springer, a trainee in the 104th division, sir." Standing at-ease, he nodded to Hanji; something in his face showed he really couldn't deliver the news they'd discovered today.

"We went to visit his home village to investigate some… interesting news." She swallowed a little, probably trying to find the right words to convey her thoughts. "Upon closer inspection, homes and shops were demolished, titans lay all over the place, and yet… there were no humans. No signs of human life at all. There were no bodies, not even limbs. And stranger than anything else, there was no blood. Just titans resting on the rubble of the village." She recalled how Connie had heard a titan speak to him, the words resembling _**"Welcome Home"**_. She ended with, "It is not conclusive, but there is a possibility that titans are actual… people."

The air in the room grew horribly thick, and I had to look up to see Levi's reaction. He looked… _**ashamed**_ of himself, the torn expression lining his features. Even his usually straight shoulders were sagged with grief. "So the titans I've been killing all along… they were _people_? Real humans?" His voice broke my heart, and I had to fight the urge to push myself from the wall and hold him reassuringly.

Hanji didn't look at him when she spoke. "I said it isn't conclusive yet…"

They talked very vaguely the current location of Eren and "Historia"—namely, Christa, though that evidently wasn't her real name. _A lot had happened during my absence,_ I thought, and I felt almost winded. _I wonder how they feel then. Probably ready to keel over, these poor people._

We filed outside after Levi discussed his new squad with Erwin, that last tidbit of news seeming to be all the commander could take. Exhaustion clearly was trying to overtake him, so we decided to let him be. Hanji turned to me and placed a key in my hand. "I want you to go home. As far as we know, the titan menace is taken care of, but I still want you safe nonetheless."

I simply nodded, turning in the opposite direction of the street toward Hanji's house. About halfway there, the hair on the back of my neck prickled, and not due to the night air that could now freely hit it thanks to my new do. I whipped my head around hoping—no, more honestly, _**expecting**_ Levi to be there.

I was wrong.

Two members of the Military Police came up behind me, walking a little too slowly for my comfort. I glared at them, stepping away every time they would stalk toward me.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" I asked politely, brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

"Actually, you can. We hear that you're rather close to the Survey Corps. Especially to the higher ups," said one, inclining his head accusingly. "Is that true?"

"I'm not sure why you would care what branch of military I am or am not affiliated with," I countered. I was about to say more when, to my surprise, my back hit against something. A wall? I looked back and gasped—it was another Military Police officer. _Where had he come from?_

"You have associated with them, and we've seen you even stay with one of them. That crazy ass titan-enthusiast." He grabbed both of my upper arms, holding fast, a cackle escaping his lips. "And that's enough for us."

I tried to wriggle free, but of course that didn't work. I stared in horror as the other two quickly approached us, one pinching my face between his fingers and bending down so he was mere centimeters from me. "You better hope that you're a pretty fucking close bunch."

There was a soft booming noise, a slight pain, and then the world went black.

**A/N:** I will admit this isn't my strongest chapter but it was yet another arc that had to be surpassed before the story could continue. And well… there it is. Rose is being kidnapped. What will happen next?

_**Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong.**_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** S/O to ruvo, ave-caesar, and Evan Akira-kun for following me! And thanks to the ever-lasting support of the nonnies, AngelicLuna, and Ayrim for reviewing :3

I will say that if you are easily _**TRIGGERED**_ by _**MOLESTATION**_, please click the back button.

_Chapter 16_

"_**This is the type of car that daddy drives." **_

_With a wide, silly smile, I watched my father play with his newest little bundle of joy, a small pile of papers surrounding me. I was in my final semester of high school and worked harder than ever to get top of my class. There were two other students ahead of me, but to one of their misfortune, she was pregnant and on the verge of graduating early. So maybe I still had a chance._

"_**Cah! Cah!"**__ Daniel repeated, reaching for the toy semi and bashing it against the hard wood of the coffee table. _

"_**I guess he likes them just about as much as you and your mom."**_

_Now my smile disappeared, replaced by a firm frown. __**"We only don't like the fact that you're gone for so long. We understand why you do it." **__Pausing, I decided to then add, __**"I could try helping out so—"**_

"_**Oh no."**__ My father raised a hand at my response. __**"I don't want you to jeopardize what you're building for yourself for some minimum wage bullshit. Your mother and myself have this, I promise."**_

_Daniel rolled onto his back and reached for another car nearby. Picking it up in his chubby fingers, he brought the hoods of the semi and the car together, screaming, "__**Mash! Mash!"**__ While he was preoccupied, my father stood and went into the adjacent hallway, vanishing into the dark. I put my books aside to keep a closer eye on Daniel and became just as entertained by his little car game as the baby when my father returned. _

_Something cold wrapped around my neck and I flinched at the feel of it, looking back at my dad. He had a warm, wrinkled smile across his face and it reached all the way to his deep green eyes. __**"Dad?"**_

"_**Look."**_

_Glancing down, I gasped at the shiny black cross depicting Jesus laying upon it hanging from my neck. __**"D-Dad, isn't this grandma's—"**_

"_**Yeah, but I think you might like to have it."**__ He gestured to the figure and continued. __**"Your grandmother thought that this made it easier for the angels of our ancestors to find us and keep us safe. Like a last remnant of true love that they can give us."**_

"_**And you believe that?"**__ I fingered the cross carefully, as if afraid I was going to break it. It was made of steel, so there was no chance unless I truly tried, but I wouldn't dare._

"_**I don't know. My faith in my family, in you and your mother and your little brother here, is very strong, though. And I always took it with me as a good luck token, to ensure I came home safe."**_

"_**Then shouldn't you keep it?"**__ I asked then, eyes wide with worry. Whether or not I kept the necklace wouldn't really change if he was hurt on the job or not, but I couldn't help but be paranoid all the same. He was my dad, after all._

"_**I think it's about time I hand it down to someone else who could use some faith." **__He kissed the top of my head. __**"Have faith in me and your mother that we will stay afloat. Have faith in those who love you, Rosemary."**_

_**Have faith…**_

….

My head was pounding as I finally awoke from my dream. I rolled my head to observe my surroundings, my vision slightly blurred at the edges. It was a dank, dark basement-type area, with a dresser, a set of doors, and another door catty-corner to it. The pair of doors may have been a closet, but I couldn't tell in the dark. I looked at the ground, wondering why my feet felt so cold, and the answer was because the floor was made up of hard cement. It made the soles of my feet sting and I tried my best to lift them, yet—of course—they were tied to the chair I sat upon.

I recalled what happened last: the Military Police officers, their slight interrogation, the blow to my head, then darkness. Now I sat tied to a chair, my wrists and ankles bound and my head throbbing mercilessly.

"Do you think she's awake yet?" Before I could feign sleep, the door swung open and two of my kidnappers entered. "That would be a yes."

One officer bent down to my eye level, his eyes lingering on mine before bringing his gaze down, lower, until it hit my bosom.

I shook my head, tears springing to my eyes. When I tried to speak, my throat protested against it; it felt as if I had swallowed sandpaper and followed it with a glass of nails. I tried to swallow, but it only made the pain worse.

"Even while asleep, you were quite the hassle, you know that?" the officer behind him, leaning against a wall, stated with a smirk on his face. "I think you owe us."

The tears I didn't want to shed spilled down my cheeks, which they found hilarious.

The man in front of me reached a hand out for the buttons of my stained shirt, unfastening it painlessly slow. When all the buttons were undone, revealing my plain black bra underneath, his eyes lingered on my breasts and my heaving chest, my breath coming in short. I couldn't believe this was actually happening to me, and part of me prayed that this was all a dream. I waited for the white of the portal to swallow me up, yet no light shone behind me.

_Nothing to save me._

"What's this?" he asked, reaching for my grandmother's necklace. "Looks like one of those piece of crap charms the church gives to people." He grinned at me, revealing a set of rotting yellow teeth. "You better pray really damn hard, then."

His calloused hands slid around to the clasp of my bra, unclasping it and pulling it off, staring at my exposed chest. I felt as if my whole body was ready to explode, I was filled with so much rage and humiliation and, more importantly, fear.

No titan in the world made me feel as scared as I was now. His thumbs brushed over my erect nipples, only so due to the cold in the room.

"You don't really have a lot going for you, missy," he muttered, leaning his head into the crook of my neck and kissing the sensitive flesh. Another sob escaped me, and he fastened his hold on me tighter so I would sit still. "But I will definitely manage."

One hand remained on a breast and the other slid down my middle, playing with the button on my pants.

"S-stop," I managed to get out, his eyes shooting up to meet mine. "Please, stop."

His friend, who was still standing against the wall with his arms crossed, only chuckled at my response. "We will, darling. Once your little band of misfits comes and rescues you."

"And it's been two days, sweetie. They're probably too engrossed in that titan brat to even notice you're gone."

_**Two days?!**__ I'd been locked up in this makeshift jail cell for two days?! And no one had come…._ I slumped a little, feeling defeated.

"That's a good girl. Submit to me."

As his hands started to linger at the button on my pants, a raucous started outside the door. The man against the wall pushed himself off, shifting his body to face the door defensively. He reached behind him for a handgun and then extended his hand to the doorknob, ready to open it slowly.

Evidently, the person on the other side had a different idea.

The door was kicked in, hanging on its bottom hinge, and the intruder revealed themselves, a sword in hand.

"Move out!" called the soldier closest to me. He scrambled to his feet and tried to move passed the assailant, but to no avail. They lifted the sword and brought it down against his back. The sound of sliced flesh could be heard from where I sat, making me cringe. My attacker fell to the ground, a gurgle escaping his throat before silence took over him.

"Who's next?"

That was Hanji's voice. I could almost cry, relief flooded through me like a river.

"You either deal with me," she went on, flipping her sword around her hand, "Or the menace outside. And he is not happy with the fact you took his friend."

The other man cowered on the ground, covering the top of his head with his hands and whimpering softly. When it was evident he would be making no move to get up and attack her, Hanji pulled out a knife and approached me. I flinched at her touch, not because I expected her to harm me, but it was kind of a reflex.

"We'll get you out of here," she stated in a soothing voice, cutting through the ropes around my wrists and ankles. "Can you walk?"

When I tried, my legs refused; they were stiff from having been restrained for so long. Letting out a tiny sob, I shook my head. She reached around to place one arm behind my back and helped me get my feet moving. It was a painful journey from my rickety wooden chair to the door, but after a few more steps my legs seemed to better adapt to the idea of walking.

"You're alright." Levi stood beside Moblit across the room. Levi slowly came up to me, unhooking his cloak and wrapping it around my shoulders. "I'm glad." His expression was its usual disinterested one, but I could see the relief behind his eyes.

I just wanted to be held by him. I wanted to take a shower and pretend all of this didn't happen. We were readying ourselves to leave when a third member had come through the door. I was wondering where the last Military Police officer had gone. He lunged toward Levi, a knife in his hand, and Levi instantly crouched in defense. Then the attacker faked toward me and was about to bring the weapon down to my chest—

But Levi got in the way.

"Captain!" Moblit called, then he went to take care of the third attacker. He brought out a knife and slashed at his side, then brought the small hilt down to bash against his head. The man fell in a heap, holding his head uselessly. Moblit kicked his side for good measure then bent over him and held the knife to his throat. "One false move. Just one." He looked up at his squad leader desperately, motioning with his head for her to take care of Levi.

She bent down, tearing at a piece of her cloak, then pressed the scrap cloth against his wound. He was bleeding profusely and it started to pool between her fingers, much too fast for my comfort. "You can't die on me, asshole," she said through gritted teeth, clearly trying to fight tears. "You can't die on me, not after everything we've been through."

He made a noise that may have been a chuckle, but sounded much too strained. "Get your hands off of me, Shitty Glasses. When-when was the last time… time that you w-washed your hands?"

I kneeled beside his torso, reaching for his hand. _I am so useless!_ Despite trying to keep it in, I started to cry anyway. I sniffled them back, but it seemed the more I tried not to, the more the tears flowed. "I-is there a doctor we can take him to?" I asked Hanji, but I didn't need to look at her to know the answer to that question.

_**Not a chance.**_

"Levi, I—"

"Oh, d-don't go looking like that, _**idiot**_," he sputtered out, a drop of blood appearing at the side of his mouth. "You look so… so damn pathetic." He took his hand from under mine and brought it to my cheek. "Cheer up, why don't you?"

"Because you're dying!" Was he being for real? "I don't want to—"

"You can't… get rid of me… that easily." He made a loud groaning noise, his face contorting as pain seized him. I cupped the hand on my cheek, squeezing it gently.

_Stay,_ I begged as I silently sobbed. _Please stay. I love you, alright? I love you and I need you to stay. So many people need you right now. Please don't leave._

_**Please take me instead.**_

I felt a warmth overtake me, and I was about to curse Father Time when I noticed that it wasn't coming from any area around me, but from _within_ me. I released his hand and pressed a hand to my stomach, where it seemed the hottest.

"R-Rose?" Hanji said, shocked, but I didn't look at her. I was too focused on watching Levi, whose eyes were starting to shut.

"What're you doing now, idiot?" he muttered, his eyes deeply hooded. Whatever possessed me to do what I did next, I couldn't tell you, but my hand traveled to his wound, removing Hanji's makeshift and soiled rag and replacing it tenderly. The warmth shifted to an almost unbearable heat as energy flowed from me and into the wound, and when I next removed my hand—

It was gone.

Not even a scar remained as evidence to what happened. _**Like Time had reversed it.**_

"Rose!" I looked up at Hanji, expecting to see a pleased look on her face. Instead, she appeared horrified.

"What?" My eyes shifted to my own body and I gasped in terror. I was _**disappearing**_! My body was just… vanishing into a mix of bright dust. "Wh-what's happening?"

_Maybe,_ I thought to myself as I gazed at Levi's still form, _this was my purpose. I was brought here to save someone I would grow to love, and now this is Time's way of saying, well… __**my**__ time is up._

With the hand that hadn't started to disappear, I lifted the black steel chain of my grandmother's cross over my neck and laid it on Levi's chest. "Please watch over him, Hanji."

"_**No!"**_ she called, reaching out for my hand, though it dissipated in her grasp the next second. "You have to stay! You have to—"

"It's fine. I'm _happy_!" My green eyes formed tears despite my statement, but it was still true. "I'm happy to have been here with you all. I'm happy to have had this experience. I'm happy with the fact I was able to save Levi's life as he's always doing with mine." Now just above my collarbone existed. "So thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

And everything faded around me.

**A/N:** I hope that was written the way I intended to express it o-o I feel that it was awkwardly written. In case you guys didn't get it, Rose "reversed" Levi's wound, saving his life, but at the expense of her own. Ah well. BOOM. Where'd she go? THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.

No you will in the next chapter bye.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** _SHNIKIES._ 20 followers, hey! And 25 Reviews, jeepers! Thanks guys 8D Hello to the newest followers, Herra Tohtori and WinterPrentice! And I wanna dedicate this chapter to ruvo for their most recent review. I am so glad that you've finally made an account. If you end up making anything, let me know! I wanna read it!

Also, this is me stating that I review upon request! Just ask nicely :3

**PS:** My little shipper heart decided it was a good idea to listen to _Forever and Always_ by Parachute, which reminds me of Rose's relationship with Levi (especially right now) and my main SnK OTP, Rivetra. So be sad with me: watch?v=9k1cwlL-jJ0

_Chapter 17_

Waking up felt like the strangest sensation. I felt as if I had slept for several days, and my stiff muscles agreed with me on that. I managed to remove myself from my bed and stumble into the bathroom, looking into the mirror and at my reflection.

I had to do a double take.

"My _hair_!" I screamed, touching the tips. "It's **gone**!" Was this some type of joke that Misty pulled with her little super model friends? She liked to pull tiny pranks and sometimes would bring others in for the ride. Thankfully, I wasn't her only victim. However, I wasn't particularly excited to be her most recent.

I stomped to my bedside table and looked around for my phone. It wasn't there. I decided to look in my dresser. Not there either. Now growing more frustrated, I went to search in my nurse's bag. It was hidden in its usual pocket with a million texts waiting to be answered.

Most of which from Misty and Samiel.

I thought back to the last memory I had. It was blurry, but I was certain the last thing I did was hang out with Misty. I went to donate hair and the rest was just kind of a blur. With a sigh, I decided to just call her and see if she just wanted to rub in my face that she pulled a fast one on me.

"_**YOU'RE ALIVE!"**_

I pulled the phone away from me, waiting for her little tantrum to die down before daring to bring it back to my ear. "Thank you. I am deaf on one side now."

"Don't make jokes!" It sounded strange to hear her so serious. "I thought you had died or something!"

Shuffling to my couch, I plopped down and turned on my television, flipping idly through the channels as I responded. "Well, I'm not. What made you think that?"

"You fucking _disappeared_! Do you not remember that? Where did you go?"

"Go?" I put my remote down and sincerely thought about that. I didn't remember **going** anywhere. Just to the barber and… that was that. "I didn't. I'm confused."

"I'm coming over. You sound sick or something." She paused and then added. "Is it that one guy? That one that… that you were kinda… _goo goo_ about for a little while?"

"Sammy?" I prompted, still puzzled. I didn't want anything to do with him since he cheated on me. "No. He did text me though so I might call him back."

She didn't say anything for a while, and I was convinced she had hung up. Finally, she said, "Ah. I see now," and finally disconnected the line.

With a confused shrug, I decided to start picking up around my apartment, not because Misty was on her way over, but because I wanted something to do. Maybe going around my home would jog some memories for me.

After a quick shower, I went straight to work. I had just finished washing the big pots and placing the smaller dishes into the dish washer when someone came barging into my home. "Hey, Misty."

"Not Misty."

I sucked in a breath, frozen in my spot in the kitchen. Finally, mustering up some courage, I went into the next room and approached my house guest.

"Sammy. Hey." I cocked my head to the side. "What are you doing here?"

"I got worried." He bit his lip, as if trying to think of something else to say.

So I beat him to it. "Well, I'm not sure what Misty told you, if anything, but I'm fine."

"She said you literally disappeared in thin air, Rose! Do you really not remember that?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. I don't remember anything prior to going to the hair dresser." I pinched the ends of my short hair-do apprehensively.

That was when Samiel noticed. "You cut your hair?" He stared at me a little longer than what I felt comfortable with. "I… I like it. You look, ah, more you?"

"Thanks…?" I didn't have time to come up with anything more intelligible to say, since Misty busted through the door.

She froze at the sight of us, sizing us both up and down. "Am I interrupting something?"

"_**No!"**_ we said simultaneously. I then went on with, "Sammy was just checking up on me."

"Uh huh. Well, so am I." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at me, not at all subtly. "And you're fine. So I'll go—"

"Y-you don't have to do that!" I called to her, reaching out to grab her tanned arm. _I'm so damn pale._ "You both can stay! I… I er, I think I'm feeling dizzy."

Misty held one of my arms while Samiel handled my other side, both guiding me to the couch. "Hey, we'll stay as long as you need us to," he reassured me.

"Yeah! Maybe we can turn this into a party!"

I rolled my eyes, which did cause me to feel a little nauseous. Hiding it, I commented, "You always try to turn everything into a party."

She laughed softly. "Someone has to!"

Misty came from a rather protective family. They really did mean well, but they kept her sheltered for so long that once she entered college she kind of… started to act out. Partied a lot, drank heavily, came back to the dorms a stumbling mess. There were many a three o'clock AM where I held that woman's long dyed-platinum hair from her tan face.

Thankfully, she had calmed down tremendously, but dropped out of school to become a model. It worked out for her, which was a lucky bet considering most people who went out for that type of career weren't likely to make it. She was so charismatic, however, that anyone would have been crazy not to hire her.

That was why she had been my friend for so long, now that I thought about it. She was the strength I always wanted, and I looked up to her for that.

_But you're your own strength now. That's why you cut your hair, remember?_

No, I didn't.

"Have you eaten today?" Samiel asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I shook my head, so he shot to his feet and went into my kitchen. He sifted through my fridge for a while but returned with his shoulders slumped. "You don't have shit in there. I'm going to order pizza. What do you guys want?"

"It's barely noon!" Misty reprimanded but then added softly, "Sausage and extra cheese." She leaned against me and whispered, "Don't tell my manager."

Fighting through my sudden fit of giggles, I said, "Just cheese is fine."

"Ugh! Learn to live it up, Aer!" Misty nudged me and added to Samiel, "Put extra cheese on hers as well."

"Wow, you're going to turn her into an animal." He rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone and dialing the pizza place two blocks over.

They stayed the entirety of the day, way passed the evening. They talked loudly the entire time and it was almost impossible to talk over them, yet I had a good time anyway. Something about it all, despite how happy I felt, seemed like there was something was missing. I thought about it periodically throughout their visit but nothing came to mind.

Good company and good food and stupid TV sitcoms and game shows. What more could I have needed?

Misty decided to leave first, much to my horror and dismay. "I have an early morning. If I oversleep my manager will have my ass." Then she was gone.

_**And then there were two.**_

_Wait._ Had I thought that before? I rubbed the palm of my hand into my eye, as if that would help my foggy memory at all.

We watched in awkward silence a silly sitcom. Things had started to turn romantic, however, as the couple on screen were staring at each other intently. I didn't dare to look at Samiel as I reached for my remote.

Apparently, he had the same idea, for his hand ended up catching hold of mine. I snapped my gaze over to him, holding my breath in anticipation.

"Sorry," he mumbled, releasing his hold on my hand. I quickly changed the channel to some cop drama.

"_**The woman in the red coat did it."**_

"_**Dammit!**_ _**You ruined the ending!"**_

"Have we seen this episode before?" I asked him suddenly, the voices in my head so vivid that it had to be a memory.

"I don't think so." I could feel his deep blue eyes on me but I didn't dare meet his gaze. "Why?"

"I… I don't know. It's dumb. Never mind." With a sigh, I picked up the trash on my floor and threw it away in the kitchen. Turning around, Samiel was in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes averted. "What?" I asked.

"I think… this is the most fun we've had in a while…" He dared a glance at me before looking away again.

"Well… It's been a while since… New Year's so…" I just shrugged, not sure what else to add to that.

"You know I—" He stopped suddenly, and I looked up at him then. He looked so… embarrassed. What happened to the confident man I happily linked arms with and showed to the whole world?

_**He never existed, if I sat down and thought about it.**_

"I know what you're about to say," I said with my hands clasped in front of me. "And I… I don't think I'm mad about it anymore." I raised a finger before he could say anything. "It doesn't mean I want to try again. I just… My heart is too heavy to be upset about it." My face warmed and a smile shone on my features. "I would like to stay friends, Sammy. I liked today. I liked hanging out and being stupid."

He chuckled, reaching out to ruffle my silver hair. "So did I." He turned on his heel and headed toward my door. "Well, if you need anything, call me, _Pal_."

"I got it, _Buddy_." With another short laugh, he was out the door and I was left alone.

I cleaned up the remainder of our little mess and then returned to my bedroom, exhausted. Glancing at my phone again, I noticed that it was only Sunday. Tomorrow, I would return to work and get into my little routine again.

Why did that make me sad, though?

Shaking my head, I went to my closet and reached for an old purple band t-shirt, slipping it on and shivering due to the fact it showed off my midriff. I scoured through my drawer for a pair of shorts or sweatpants, but it seemed mine were all dirty. I dealt with white thigh-high socks and black underwear and slipped into my bed.

_Why does it smell like that?_

Cigarettes, firewood, tea… That was a strange combination of scents and yet… Why did they make my heart skip a beat? Ignoring that last thought, I shuffled to lay down when I noticed something on the floor on the other side of my bed. I tentatively reached over to grab it, expecting it to be an animal or a kidnapper or something, but instead picked up a—

Dress jacket.

I didn't even own one of these. Was it Samiel's? Racking my brain, I promptly answered no to that question. He wasn't the type of man to wear something like this. I brought it closer to my face and the aroma from before hit me again, making my face flush.

_**Idiot.**_

I gasped, the sound of someone else's voice vibrating within the walls of my mind. That wasn't a voice I recognized.

But yet, I knew it, familiar to me like the back of my hand.

"H-hello?" I called out stupidly, knowing no one would answer me. Somehow, however, I felt it would prompt the strange, familiar voice in my head to speak to me again.

_**You really **_**are**_** an idiot.**_

I didn't like being insulted just like everyone else, but yet I… I **loved** that the voice in my head was speaking to me like that. Actually, I loved that _**voice**_.

And he had said that very line right after I had confessed that I loved him.

Flashbacks came back to me, of a man with jet black hair and steel grey eyes. A man who saved my life and was dependent upon by so many. A man who had shown signs of weakness in my presence and allowed me to hold him until it was all over. A man whose life I ended up saving, but it seemed it was all at the sake of my memories.

_**He disappeared in my world just as my body vanished from his.**_

Did he remember me too? What was his name?

"L… L…" I tried my best to sound it out, and tears formed in my eyes as I struggled to recall just who it was that I was thinking about.

"L… _**Levi**_…" I breathed heavily, clutching the jacket, burying my face into it. "Levi. His name is Levi." I chanted his name like a mantra as sobs bubbled to my throat.

_I want to see Levi. Take me to Levi, please._

Warmth and white enveloped me and I held onto the jacket even tighter. I was so afraid at the plan Father Time intended for me and just where Time would drop me off, but I watched the journey anyway.

I landed in a small heap on a concrete floor, my face covered in the black jacket I'd brought with me.

Before I could take the jacket off to assess my surroundings, someone grabbed me from behind and slammed me into the closest wall. They lifted a knife to the side of my neck, pressing it against my soft flesh.

"State your name and business, stranger."

I half-laughed, half-cried as I said, "It seems y-you've forgotten about me, too."

He spun me around and pushed my shoulder roughly so I wouldn't feel any need to move. "Excuse me?" He looked me up and down, his eyes narrowed more so than usual. "I don't believe we've ever met, woman."

"W-we have because—" I looked around the room for any remnant of me and then at him desperately. That was when I noticed the black steel chain around his neck.

Before I left, I gave that to him. I reached a cautious hand up and took the chain between my fingers. "This was mine. I gave it to you when… when I left the last time…"

He shoved my hand away and stepped back, the knife still pointing at me. "This is yours, huh? Prove it."

"The initials ELA are carved on the back. They stand for Evelyn Lilith Aer."

He looked at the back of the cross and, fixing it to the light, the expression on his face revealed I was right. "Why would I have—"

He stopped short, staring at me intently. I felt self-conscious under his gaze, covering my lower half with the jacket in my hand.

"You're that idiot girl," he whispered, the knife now dropping to his side. "The reckless, loud one who had long hair. But then you… cut it."

"I'd been uh… thinking about it for a while," I said softly, recalling that memory. "Do you… do you remember my name."

He came up to me again, dropping the knife and then placing his hands on either side of my head. My whole body felt like it would explode from the small proximity between our bodies and I held the jacket tighter than ever.

"How could I forget about an idiot like you?" His mouth was just a breath away from mine as he spoke my name: _**"Rosemary."**_

**A/N:** Next chapter will have smut :P Thanks for reading.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** This chapter will contain adult content.

_Chapter 18_

Whatever semblance of control I had left was gone. I dropped the jacket and wrapped my arms around his neck, causing him to bend down to my level, and pressed my lips hard against his. His arms slid around my exposed middle then to my back, pulling me as close as possible and returning the kiss with as much gusto. Leaning away to breathe, I said, "W-we haven't kissed like that since you were at my house."

"So why did you fucking **stop**?" he growled, reclaiming my mouth. His strong hands slipped to my thighs and had me jump and wrap my legs around his waist. I could feel him slowly walking, but wasn't sure to where—probably the obvious. Clinging to him, I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, my lips parting and my tongue gently licking his bottom lip, begging to be let in. His mouth opened to mine and his tongue fought back for dominance.

My back rested upon something soft—his bed—and I arched my back so there wouldn't be any space between us still. He pushed me down with one hand and leaned away, a soft whimper escaping me.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, covering my mouth in embarrassment.

"No, _**idiot**_. It's not that it's… **shit**." He looked away as he tried to gather the right words to say. "You've never had sex, right?"

_Ah_. "W-well, no," I stuttered. "But…" Pushing myself onto my elbows to better look at him, I said, "I want to. With you. And only you, if you'll allow that…"

"That's not—" He groaned, glancing up at the ceiling with an irritated expression. "I just don't want to hurt you. Or do anything that would upset you."

Now I knew what this was about. Hanji may have informed him of what she assumed to be true between me and my kidnappers. Though not much had gone on, it was still… traumatizing. The memories tried to bubble up but I pushed them away.

I didn't want to think about them when the only thing that really mattered to me was Levi and this moment. And I knew that Levi wouldn't treat me at all the way those awful men did.

"I won't make you, Levi," I finally told him, trying to talk passed the lump forming in my throat. I couldn't help but feel rejected, even though I knew his reasoning was logical and it wasn't right of me to feel that way.

"Don't be stupid." He leaned over me and kissed me so softly I almost didn't feel it. "Just… if you need me to stop, tell me."

With a small nod I bent forward to capture his lips again, a little smile on my face. He pressed himself upon my chest, my back against the bed, while gently wrapping his arms around the small of my back. Releasing my mouth—much to my behest—he trailed kisses from my cheek, to the nape of my neck, then to my collarbone.

He stopped there, and I thought something had gone wrong. My eyes hooded, I glanced down at him apprehensively, but he was only looking right back at me, intent all over his face. With a nod from me, he continued with his descent, his lips making a line down the front of my shirt until they reached my exposed midriff. One hand slid underneath the hem, the other securing itself still on my back, and he slowly—agonizingly so—lifted the thin fabric over my body and then over my head, tossing it aside.

Since I was on the verge of going to bed in my own time, I hadn't bothered to put on a bra. Part of me was relieved by this decision; less to work with. However, I couldn't help being consumed by chagrin while his gaze roamed over my body, my underwear and long socks the only pieces of clothing covering any skin.

"_**Dammit**_, woman," he growled, his lips hovering over my collarbone.

"I'm sorry?" I asked breathlessly. One of my arms went to cover my chest, but he grabbed hold of it and pinned it beside my head.

"Don't you **dare**." Heat radiated from his expression as his eyes met mine before he continued with his little expedition.

He started with the nape of my neck then my collarbone. When he reached my right breast, he took no time claiming it as his, his teeth gently pinching my hard nipple. I cried out; it felt like a small electric shock erupted all through my body from this one little point. His tongue swirled gently around the pink nub then moved to the other one, capturing it just as enticingly slow, being just as soft, but it sent a thrill throughout all of me, right to my core.

I was growing impatient, though. I loved what he was doing, but I wanted more. I wanted him. "Levi, I—" I gasped as he kissed the soft flesh between my breasts, down passed my bellybutton and to the lining of my underwear. With delicate fingers, he slid them down my legs along with my socks and discarded them to the same place my shirt happened to be.

I didn't care about my clothes. I didn't care about much of anything except the fact his tongue was making small circles in my center. I moaned, my hand covering my mouth as he worked on the sensitive skin between my legs. He suckled on my clit, then inserted a finger, working it in and out of me. My walls tightened a little around that finger, and all I could think then was how I wanted _**more**__._

_I want you._

But I couldn't say those words, not between the small moans bubbling up in my throat.

Just as I felt I couldn't handle his teasing and pulling and small thrusts he stopped, and I could have _**killed**_ him for it.

"I-I can't," he groaned, looking horribly uncomfortable.

"S-sorry," I stuttered, sitting up. Then I noticed then the source of his discomfort. His pants looked terribly tight where a bulge had formed. "Ah… Levi, you—" I didn't know how to express "You can enter your penis in me" without sounding like a complete moron.

So I decided to play with him for a little bit.

I didn't know much about this part, except I could use my hand or my mouth. I would just have to depend on whatever instinct I had on this one.

Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, I pulled him over and then beside me, my hand releasing the cotton fabric and then reaching for a button. I was nervous, so my hand shook a little, but he was patient, placing his hands over mine and guiding me down his torso. I gently pushed the shirt aside and leaned in to mimic his actions.

He felt so strong under my lips, and I could feel his muscles contort slightly with each kiss. When I reached his pants, I fumbled with the button but managed to unfasten it, slowly pulling them down and when the pant legs reached his ankles he kicked them off of him and off the bed.

His length was forming a tent in his boxers, _and it's all for me_, I thought, my face flushing. Tentatively, I removed his boxers as well, exposing him and just how long he was. I dared a glance at him; he was watching me, wondering what my next move would be. Gathering up some courage, my hands gently grasped his shaft and then I bent over the tip, flicking my tongue out to lick the tiny slit. There was a sharp intake of breath, and I leaned back again, thinking I'd done something wrong.

"Are you alright?" I asked, but he didn't answer, only slightly bucked his hips under my hands. _He wants more._

Understanding his body language, my mouth took as much as the tip inside it, my tongue working the sensitive skin before I pulled my lips back, giving it a soft kiss.

"L-Levi, I—" _This is so hard to say!_ "I w-want…"

"Get over here," he groaned softly, a hand on my arm pulling me to him. I lay beside him, my green eyes held his greys, my hands pressed against his hard chest.

I felt so small and warm and protected in his arms. I could have remained this way for the rest of my life, and I wouldn't have minded at all. But the smolder lining his face darkened and I could tell he had other things in mind.

He rolled us both over so he once again hovered over me. I could feel the tip of his length gently grinding the inside of my thigh, causing me to moan involuntarily.

"If you want me to stop," he stated a little breathlessly, "You have to tell me."

I nodded, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him forward. There would be no way in Hell I'd tell him to stop. So much had happened between us that built up to this moment and everything just felt _**right**_.

Placing his head in the crook of my neck, one hand behind my back and the other under one of my legs, he slowly inserted himself inside me. Admittedly, it did hurt. He stretched me, my walls trying to shift and form perfectly around him. I leaned my head back and gave my complete trust to him. Levi knew what he was doing, and more importantly, he loved me. He was with me now because he loved me and I had faith in that love.

He settled within my core, and for a very long pause, neither of us moved. I could barely breathe, the sensations burning within my abdomen making it hard to do so, to even think.

Finally, he lifted his hips again and slowly brought them down. I slipped my arms around his neck and buried my mouth into his shoulder so as to muffle my moans. Again, he brought his hips up then down, but a little faster this time. When it was evident my body had adjusted to his length being inside me, he quickened his pace, starting a steady rhythm.

My hips started to buck in response, wanting more. I just loved the feeling of our bodies connected like this. There was barely any space between our bodies, save for the times his hips would move away from mine, only to bring down yet another powerful thrust. I could feel his chest rub against my breasts, his shoulder and back muscles move under my small pale hands, how warm his breath was against my neck. I committed each sensation to memory, categorizing them deep into the most secret and cherished parts of my mind.

The building up in my abdomen built to the point I could hardly stand it. I clamped my mouth on his shoulder, causing him to moan into my ear. "L-Levi, I think—"

At that point, I was aware of two very distinct feelings. The happiness this moment and Levi brought me, and the sudden explosion of fireworks working around the nerves in my center. I bit down harder on his shoulder, tasting the tinge of blood but ignoring it. My leg muscles spasmed under his hold and I clamped them down tighter around his waist.

"_**Rosemary,"**_ he breathed as he gave a final, powerful thrust inside me, making me rock violently against him. I felt a warmth enter me, encircling his length as there wasn't much room for it; it started to pool a little just underneath us, but we ignored it.

It took a while for us to collect ourselves before he removed his length from me, causing me to buck a little and whimper. He rolled to lay beside me then embraced me in his strong arms. I rested my forehead against his chest, a soft smile on my face.

"I love you," I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Shut up and go to bed." But as he said it, his arms tightened their hold on me. _I love you, too._

**A/N:** GAH I can't write smut but there you go. I'll do acknowledgements for the new cuties who favorited and followed and reviewed in the next chapter bye.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** year of the panda, StoryTeller231, and Ayrim, heya! And thanks for reviewing. TheStoryTeller231, arachnidsgabfest, SmileRen, Liberty Bake, Dorchica—thanks for favoriting! And NLockheart, thanks for following! 8D

**PS:** This chapter is slow as fuck until the very end whoops.

_Chapter 19_

Sore. My thighs and stomach felt so, so sore. The thought of rolling over to see what time it was felt like a feat in itself, but I managed. A little wooden analog clock read eight in the morning. What the Hell was I doing awake right now?

I glanced next to me and saw my bed empty. But this wasn't bed. And—

_**Hold on a second!**_

_That wasn't my clock!_ Sitting up suddenly, ignoring the dull pain that shot up my spine, I searched around for the little clothing I'd brought with me to this time period. It was folded nicely on the chair in front of Levi's desk, a small note on them. Face aflame, I reached over and plucked the scrap paper between my fingers, flipping it over with one hand while holding Levi's blanket against my chest.

_Please bathe and change into my clothes when you've awoken. We won't be home until late tonight because Hanji wants to perform some tests. There is food downstairs but don't eat all of it._

_Levi_

I read it more than once, a silly smile on my face. It sounded straightforward and slightly formal but… but it still filled me with joy that he spent a few seconds to write me a simple note like that one.

It took a lot of effort, but I managed to waddle over to Levi's closet. Grabbing a button down and long pants (to roll up, which he hated but I didn't care), I shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. After turning on the water I jumped right in, indulging in the feeling of its warm pressure against my sore back and legs.

Alone in the shower, I remembered everything from last night, and my body heated up more under the warm spray. His touch, his breath, his voice against my ear, his calloused fingers connecting with mine… I had to physically shake myself into focus so I could at least wash myself and get out.

I knew he probably would have liked for me to clean his room—since I was a majority of the mess—but instead I went to the library again. Bored with titan literature, I picked up some book on space theories. Halfway of the way through, someone tapped me on the back of the shoulder, causing me to jump. Turning around, I saw it was Hanji with a small frown on her face.

"What is it?" I asked, closing my book and standing up, stretching my arms and legs—how long was I sitting down?_ Where did the sun go?_

"Have you talked to Levi?"

"Have I?" I shook my head. "Not since, ah, last night." My face reddened slightly, but I ignored it. "Why?"

"It's… It's Eren." I sucked in a breath to keep from interjecting. "Our experiments… I stressed him out and now…"

My mind went to the worst possible conclusions—Levi had gotten in the way while Eren was in his titan form and he accidentally killed the corporal. Or Levi had to kill Eren because he had gone out of control. Or worse still—they both ended up perishing.

"It was a team effort, but we managed to get him out of the titan. Eren is resting but, see… some of his face and skin had started to fuse with the titan so we're unsure if… he will appear normally."

I blinked. "Wait, that's it?" I could have screamed at her for worrying me so much! "I thought he could regenerate his skin and bones relatively quickly."

"That's part of the problem. He's not healing as rapidly or as normally as usual. So I have Moblit and the rest of my squad watching over him."

"How long do you think it will take for him to actually heal?"

She thought for a short pause then said, "Four, five days tops."

"And you don't think he'll be normal again?" That had a number of hidden meanings. She only shrugged in response.

I simply nodded, picking up the book I had been so avidly reading and turning on my heel to put it away. "Where's everyone else?"

"Levi's back in his office, writing a formal report for Erwin," Hanji answered, and I could just hear the stupid smirk on her face. "He'll be a little while longer. You should stay here and wait." I listened until her footsteps vanished before emerging from the long row of books.

Instead of taking her advice, I slipped out of the library and downstairs, passed Levi's closed office door and the many lines of bedrooms until I finally reached the basement. Some of the soldiers were playing cards at a table, not paying any mind to the curtained bed area behind them. Was Eren's condition really that bad? So much so they couldn't even look at him? Or was it stable enough that they didn't need to pay any attention?

_**There was only way to find out.**_

Tip toeing, crouched really close to the ground—practically crawling—I managed to slip behind Eren's curtain noiselessly, creeping up to his bedside.

Most of his face and arms were wrapped up in thick gauze, but whatever skin was exposed wasn't, well, skin. It was pure muscle, but it looked tough enough to handle being exposed to the air. With the careful hands of a nurse, I placed them on Eren's chest, staring at him intently.

"I'm sorry if this hurts, but it should only for a little while." I felt my eyes watering out of panic. The last time I did this, I was torn away from Levi and I forgot all about him—and it seemed whoever I had personally affected (as I concluded from the one experiment) lost all their memories of me as well.

Just as I mustered up enough will to continue with what I was about to do, someone grabbed both of my hands and twirled me around. Levi's eyes shone angrily down at me and he abruptly pulled me away from Eren's bedside. The other members of the Scouting Legion set to watch him seemed just as surprised by his appearance as they were by the fact I was there at all.

I tried to tug my arm away as we headed back to his office, but as we neared the door I simply gave up. He was much stronger than me, so why bother?

Once inside, he threw me in front of him and slammed the door behind us, not even looking at me at first. My heart hammered so hard it made my whole body quake, and even though I felt an instinct to go over to him and comfort him—for whatever, I wasn't sure—a little voice in my head told me to stand right where I was. Touching him may make things worse.

"What were you about to do?" he finally asked, his icy gaze fixing on me.

I almost lost all ability to speak under his glare, but managed. "I was… going to… fix him."

"He'll fix his own damn self eventually." He took but a single step toward me. "Don't go playing healer all the time."

"It… it wouldn't have been that big of a deal. I would have come back."

"You wouldn't have if we didn't start remembering again."

"_We?_" Did he mean me and him? "It was only a day, Levi—"

"It was almost a **week**, Rosemary." I gaped at this news, not able to speak, so he went on. "Little memories of some idiot girl with a stupid haircut came trickling back to us out of nowhere. Only when you were here, in the flesh, did we remember you more solidly."

"We… You mean _**everyone**_?"

"Of course everyone, stupid." He rubbed his temple and heaved a heavy breath before finally approaching me. I stepped away until my back hit his desk and he loomed over me, my eyes wide. "I'm not running the risk," he stated through slightly gritted teeth, "of **losing** you all over again."

_**Oh.**_ He wasn't mad because of what I was about to do. He was worried about its product.

"But if Eren doesn't heal normally, humanity can't—"

"I know that." He walked around to pull something from his desk. "He will, though. That idiot's lost his goddamn limbs and had been fine. Once he's ready to get back out there—"

"You're going to experiment on him _**again**_?" I asked incredulously, watching as he rummaged through his neat little files.

He gave me a look as if I just said the dumbest thing in the entire universe. "Of course we are. How else will we properly formulate a plan to retake the outer wall?"

"I just—" Swallowing, I tried again. "He's a kid—"

"You're still on that?" He placed a small stack of papers onto the tabletop and moved to stand beside me, crossing his arms. "I know that it isn't normal where you're from, Rosemary, but we have to work with what we have."

Watching him, I noticed that he was just as filled with turmoil over the entirety of his situation as I was—no doubt more so. Tenderly, I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile when he looked my way. "It will be alright."

He leaned close and pressed his nose against my forehead. I closed my eyes and allowed us to be taken into the moment, but we were interrupted by an abrupt knock on the door. Taking a step away from him, he bid the stranger entrance.

Hanji came in with a worried expression lining her face, her eyebrows uncharacteristically low. "I have some news for you." She extracted a piece of paper from her back pocket and handed it to Levi.

He read it briefly then gave a soft growl. "You have to be fucking _**kidding **_me."

**A/N:** I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE I STARTED BACK UP AT UNIVERSITY AND LOST MUSE SO I WAS LIKE FUCK IT BUT NOW I'M BACK BUT I HAVE SHIT TO DO SO I'LL PROBABLY GET ANOTHER CHAPTER GOING AND READY TO POST THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AGAIN I AM

SORR

Y

YYYYY


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** WHOOO A LOT OF PEOPLE TO Say hOWDy TO. Featherelly, Rachelb, Survey Corps (nice freaking username dude), Stormy Sohma, NightlyRowenTree, and leDia-chan—thank you for following! I am now over 30 guys! And Ayrim, AngelicLuna, ruvo (who just posted a nice story guys go lookit), Stormy Sohma, and NightlyRowenTree, thanks for reviewing! 8D

_Chapter 20_

Levi kept me under a sharp watch the rest of the day, though I really did want to go see Eren and check on his well-being. I kept thinking of different tactics to get passed him, but he saw through each one and was always a step ahead.

It started to _**piss me off**_.

After the message he received from Hanji—that neither party would talk to me about, assholes—and my many attempts to see Eren, I finally managed to get into his dungeon area again. Mikasa was there this time, and I assumed she had asked (or maybe ordered, from what her reputation made her out to be) the other Survey Corps members to leave the basement. When she spotted me, she only nodded in acknowledgement then returned to the task she had busied herself with: whittling.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she answered, not looking back at me. "I think I want to make it an apple. Maybe I'll paint it as well."

"That would be beautiful." I pressed my back against the wall as an awkward silence fell between us. I used that as an opportunity to observe the woman before me.

I assumed she was the same age as her friend, for she was one of the graduates wearing the training uniforms during the titan attack awhile back. That felt like forever ago, now that I thought about it. Now she simply wore a white shirt and a long skirt, that red scarf from before still wrapped around her neck. She sat with her back straight and face focused, but even beneath that serious exterior I could see signs of youth, and I couldn't help but smile.

_So it seems even in such a cruel world, it still lives._ I felt relieved.

She may have noticed me staring, for she glanced back at me with large, dark eyes and asked, "Can I help you with something, Ms. Rose?" She wasn't being rude, but rather very formal in tone.

My cheeks reddened and I averted my gaze, trying to think of a plausible excuse. Finally, I gave up and stated honestly, "I was checking up on Eren. I was worried about him." Then I added, "I'm sorry. About his… condition."

"He'll be fine." The statement held so much love and confidence it made my heart swell. I smiled softly and nodded.

_I know he will._

Slowly approaching his bedside, I reached for his gauzed hand and rubbed it gently with my thumb. "It's weird, not seeing him all… animated."

Mikasa gave a short chuckle, but didn't stop what she was doing. "I am also unused to the quiet." She fidgeted. "It was mildly irksome before, but now I've become used to it."

I looked over at her, trying to really read her. But she gave nothing away, which only agitated me further.

"Were you there? During the, ah, experiments?"

"Yes." She paused, her hands hovering as her eyes suddenly went far away. When she returned to the present, she said, "I thought of the worst possible situations happening, but that was not one of them."

"At least you mildly prepared yourself." I was about to say more, but someone had placed their hand on my shoulder. I didn't have to look behind me to see who it was; their anger emanated throughout the room.

"Corporal," Mikasa greeted, giving him a brief glare before returning to her whittling.

"I need you elsewhere," he said to me, not even bothering to acknowledge Mikasa's presence. I ground my teeth together but didn't argue, just followed after him. He led me outside and into the garden before turning sharply to glare at me. "I feel like this is going to be a constant fight with you."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to _**see**_ the boy, Levi—"

"But you're a nurse, Rosemary. You don't stand idly by and watch people hurt. If you have the means to fix it, you do." He balled a fist but abruptly hid it behind his back. "And you really are going to try, aren't you?"

I stayed quiet, but that was answer enough for him. He seemed at a loss for words until his whole body lit up with what to say next.

"If you interfere with the healing process, Hanji will never forgive you."

I opened my mouth to speak. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it once more. Then I kicked the ground under my feet. He was right. _Dammit! _

"You'd be interrupting valuable data for whatever reports she has going on. She wouldn't be able to look passed that, considering she also allowed you into her home."

"Ah, shut up," I grumbled, stomping away from him and to a nearby well. I looked into it, trying to think of a way to get away with it. If he doesn't heal normally, they won't have a chance to get a one-up against the titans. Research be damned, that seemed a lot more important. "I'll convince her," I said when Levi's reflection came to join mine.

"Good fucking luck."

"Thanks," I quipped, sauntering back into the house.

I found her in Levi's office, hovered a piece of parchment, her hands under her chin. She smiled up at me when she noticed me walk in, and I shut the door behind me so no lance corporals could interrupt.

"Can I talk to you about something? About Eren?"

Her body shifted as she moved Levi's chair away from its desk. "Shoot."

"I was wondering… Do you remember at all what happened before I disappeared before?"

Hanji looked to the ceiling as she thought then nodded. "Yes. You saved Levi's life." She frowned deeply at the memory. "Why?"

"I was… see I'm worried about Eren and—"

"I don't think that's a good idea," she interjected, causing me to feel rather dejected. She'd never shot me down before—as far as I knew, she had never interrupted me before either.

"But it would be in his best benefit if—"

She stood up and hovered over me. She was not playing around anymore, she was not the normal Hanji with the silly smile, but this one was almost… dark. This Hanji scared the **shit** out of me.

"I am not worried about Eren. He will heal as he should." She folded her arms, her eyes still holding mine. "I am worried about **you**. Do you think you can keep healing people without some type of substantial price?"

"I—" I bit my lip and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't _**care**_."

"I do. And I can name one other person who would as well." That familiar smirk appeared on her face, but instead of feeling relieved, I blushed intensely and had to look away, embarrassment overtaking me. "I have thought about it. I know that if Eren does not return to his original orientation, Mikasa will murder me in broad daylight. But I have also thought about the consequences. One of them being… well… whatever happened to you. We can't allow that to happen again."

"Levi said that everyone had forgotten about me. Is that true?" My throat locked despite my trying to be tough. Why in the world would I be hurt by that, considering the fact any memories of them had vanished from my mind as well?

"Unfortunately. And I know the person who it affected the most was Levi." She returned to her seat, crossing her legs and relaxing against the back of it. "He kept fiddling with that necklace and he looked downright… lost. It was a strange sight to see." She sighed, rubbing her cheek gently. "It also frustrated us that we had these vague memories of some random girl but we couldn't recall just who she was, not even any specifics like eye color or hair color. It was so odd."

"Oh…" I felt relieved that at least a piece of me stayed with them. "What helped you guys remember, then? I did… See, Levi had come with me to my own time—"

"We know."

"And he'd left his jacket there. And it kind of… jogged my memory. All the things I'd forgotten suddenly came back because I could recall who the jacket belonged to. So is that how it was for you guys?"

"What happened was," she explained, drumming her fingers together, "I was in the library when I noticed one of the books on astronomy had been left open. It was flipped to a page you had brought up to me about astrological alignment. And that was it. That was what made me remember you." The warmth on her face tugged at my heart and it took all my strength not to run over to her and hug her, maybe even sit in her lap.

_**I was such a baby.**_

"I hadn't quite gotten to Levi to talk about it, but I brought it up to Commander Erwin, and he said he had recalled more specifics around the same time I started to remember you. So it seems that it was all some type of chain reaction."

"I see. So you're all afraid it will take longer this time for everyone—"

"To recall anything about you. While you were gone, morale kind of plummeted. You're Moblit's squad leader wrangler, and Eren's motherly figure, which in turn meant you held some type of importance to Mikasa and Armin, and then Levi…"

"I'm… I'm sorry." I understood now. I didn't want to cause anymore heartache, but also… "But even so, I just… I feel like Eren's well-being and everyone's goal to restore humanity's mark on the world is more important." Bravely, I crossed the room and reached down to cup her hands in mine, cheeks aflame. "So I'll even beg, Hanji. Let me do this. Please?"

Her jaw locked, and I felt certain she would decline my offer all over again. Then she said, "Only if you feel confident enough that it will work, and that you can get back."

"I did it before!" I reminded her, standing up straight excitedly. "I'm going to do it again, you'll see!"

…

Levi, Hanji, Moblit, Armin, Mikasa and Commander Erwin were hovered around Eren's bed, Hanji and myself standing the closest.

"Are you sure about this?" the taller woman asked for the millionth time.

"_**Positive.**_" I only looked at her for my confirmation. She nodded and stepped away, her hands firm at her sides.

Tentatively, I pressed my palms against Eren's chest, my heart hammering erratically._ I don't know if this hurts, but if so, I'm sorry. _With as much intention and will as I could muster, I allowed all the energy I had left to flow from me, down my arms, through my fingertips and into the boy. I heard a muffled noise like a grunt, but I didn't allow that to distract me from what I was doing. My head started to fly higher and higher away from Eren's bed, away from the year 850, passed my own time. My body felt nonexistent, like I was simply a spirit going on a long, distant journey through time and space.

A heat consumed me then, my hands turning bright white against Eren's chest. I ignored the pain that started to shoot through each of my nerves, and only when I noticed Eren stirring did I take my hands away.

_**And then I fell into blackness.**_

…

My hands grasped hold of the sheets beneath my fingertips, and for one reason or another I felt afraid to open my eyes. Holding my breath, I blinked slowly, focusing on my surroundings. That desk, that small closet full of bland old man clothing, the man sitting at his chair with a book in his hand—all of it was familiar and beautiful and I just wanted to cry with joy.

I didn't forget. I didn't leave. _**It worked.**_

"H... Hello?"

At the sound of my voice, he set down whatever he was reading and leaned back, crossing his ankles as he stared at me. "You've been out for a little bit, _**princess**_." He said the nickname with more of a mocking tone than a gentle one, but hearing his voice at all and being able to put a **name **to it meant more to me than anything. "I'm not a babysitting service."

"Well... no shit," I said, the only intelligible thing to come to mind. "What-what time is it?"

"Do I look like a clock to you?"

I blinked rapidly at his response. Was he still angry I had gone through with my decision to help Eren? I was alive and well, so what was the problem? "Are you mad or something?"

"I have shit to do and making sure you didn't wreck my house kind of pushed everything back,**_ princess_**." He stood up and grabbed a cloak hanging near the door. And then I realized something was horribly wrong.

For one, the cloak did not have the Survey Corps insignia on it- it wasn't even green. Two, his clothes looked tattered, and with his prestige and constant nagging to keep things clean, that was kind of... uncharacteristic, to say the least. To the point it actually worried me. But as I observed the room further, I noticed a third thing:

**This wasn't Levi's room. **

It still had a desk, but it had chipped wood and the finish was peeling away. The bed I lay on had ripped sheets that looked like it had a few stains on it, and the headboard appeared to have been broken in some parts. The wooden floor had a torn rug, and just the entire layout of the room appeared to be... not of Levi's taste.

"Where am I?"

"You're in Trost's underground city," Levi informed me, turning around to glare at me. "You literally appeared out of fucking no where. I couldn't just let you lay around like a dying kitten, not in a place like this. Now, if that's enough questions-"

"N-no, wait. I have one more."

"Or for the love of- what is it?"

"What... year is it?" I swallowed hard as I awaited an answer.

He gave me the strangest expression, but with an eye roll he said, "844."

Oh**_ shit_**.

**A/N:** If you haven't read the side manga, "A choice of no regrets", I suggest walking away now.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Tried to get this out between university and work so here we are!

_Chapter 21_

Levi left me alone with some female companion of his—that he lived with. Despite how irrational it was, I felt **jealous** of her, and we glared at each other the entire time we were alone. A couple hours after he had gone did another male come in. He glanced between us, an eyebrow raised, before he finally spoke.

"Isabel, who's your friend?"

"She is **not** my friend," we both spat at him before returning our sour expressions at the other woman.

"_**I had a friend who was much like you, proud and slightly annoying and very clumsy, who wanted to know what lay beyond the walls."**_

"_**What was her name?"**_

"_**Isabel."****_

The girl named Isabel explained, "She's some stupid girl Levi rescued, Farlan. Passed out in an alley, really?" She cocked her head incredulously. "How dumb can you get? I woulda just left you there."

"And what's her name, Isabel? Where's she from? She's dressed too nice to just be some wanderer."

"I'm not a wanderer—" _Oh I am not having this conversation again._ I felt like I was back at the beginning, where I argued with everyone in the room about whether or not I was truly that idiotic. "Rosemary. But just call me Rose. And I'm not—" _–from around here._ How did I explain that? I could explain I was from the future, or from the inner walls, either would be true but very hard to discuss. "I am from elsewhere, yes."

"Well, Rose. Ah… Levi doesn't let just anyone into his home so I guess you can't be a threat." Farlan gave Isabel a condescending glance, and she scooted her chair away from me, huffing and crossing her arms. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

I didn't know the last time I'd actually eaten anything, which was probably a bad thing to say aloud. But considering the condition of their home, I assumed they didn't have a lot to offer anyway. "I am actually not, thank you. I appreciate the hospitality, _**Farlan**_." I emphasized his name and glared at Isabel one last time before daring to stand up and away from the bed, stretching.

"It really isn't a problem." He watched me carefully, not like a soldier assessing his enemy, but a man truly curious about their newest guest. "So, where is 'elsewhere', if I may ask?"

"Ah—just… upstairs. I haven't been there long so I'm not too familiar."

"So that's why you got lost." I had to stop myself from breathing a sigh of relief; maybe traveling between time periods made me an excellent fibber. Normally, it wasn't something to be proud of, but in situations like this, it was a talent that really came in handy. "I'm glad Levi found you when he did then. Consider yourself lucky."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

I thought back to a conversation Levi and I had when he came with me back home.

"_**You see, I wasn't always a very important individual in the military. Instead, I was a thug who led a gang of thieves in Trost's underground city."**_

"_**A thug? Like a criminal? What did you do?"**_

"_**Just stole shit, snuck above ground and took money, killed people. I became renowned above and below Trost and grew a criminal record the size of a church."****_

So this was what Levi had been talking about, his life as a criminal. But most criminals didn't rescue random girls in alleyways, not unless they had an ulterior motive for them. Even so, wouldn't he have told his comrades what that would have been?

_Even now, Levi is still a mystery to me._

Farlan decided to put me to work while Levi was out, much to Isabel's dismay. She insisted I stayed strapped to the bed until Levi gave specific instructions on what to do with me, but Farlan reminded her that I wasn't tied down in the first place, which was a sign in itself. I had to control myself so I wouldn't smirk in her face, but I felt certain I'd won. I was scrubbing the floor when Levi came in, hanging his cloak up and replacing what seemed like a small switchblade back in its rightful place in his boot. He glanced down at me, then looked for his comrades with an annoyed expression.

"Th-they're in the kitchen," I stuttered, standing up quickly and wiping my dirtied knees with the back of my hands, since the fronts were covered in sudsy, dirty water. He only nodded once before walking around me and my sloppy mess into the next room.

"Neither of you are watching her," I heard him utter under a harsh breath. "Why?"

"Are we supposed to watch her clean all day?" Isabel countered a little louder. She obviously wasn't taught about subtly. "Besides, she's been an obedient little puppy since Farlan got home. So blame him."

"Thank you, Isabel," the other man mumbled. "She really hasn't been any trouble, Levi. I don't feel there's anything to worry about—"

"That's not the point. I left her here with you—" To which I knew he was speaking to Isabel for I heard her grumbling, "and you know that if that is the case, then you keep an eye out. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Levi," they both said in unison, sounding a little defeated.

"I'm going to go take care of her." When I heard him shuffle back this way, I promptly pretended to retouch the place I just cleaned. He stood right in my water, and carefully I lifted my eyes to meet his.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to take a walk with me?" Though to any other girl it may have been a romantic gesture, his demeanor revealed it to be anything but. Besides, this wasn't _my_ Levi, who wore my grandmother's necklace around his neck and allowed me to sleep in his bed, but a different one, and I had to keep reminding myself of that.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I retorted, getting to my feet, holding the course sponge in my hand.

"No. Let's go." He took the sponge from me and tossed it into the kitchen before leading the way outside, not bothering to grab his cloak again.

The streets were filthy, an unexpected origin of humanity's soon-to-be strongest soldier. People slept on the sidewalks and gathered around trashcan fires. No one seemed to have any hope in their eyes, even the children. It all broke my heart.

"You look surprised."

I jumped at the sound of his voice then glanced at him. "Ah—no—yes. Kind of, I guess." Sighing, I admitted, "It's just sad."

"It's _life_, kid. This is where people come when they literally have nowhere else to go."

"I'm… I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say.

"Nothing to apologize about. It's not like it's your fault." He took the lead again, clamping his mouth shut and making it evident that the conversation was over.

People kept trying to approach us, asking for scraps of anything we had, and I felt terrible for not having anything to offer.

"Your stomach is so **fucking** loud," he complained suddenly, and unconsciously I placed a hand over abdomen just as it rumbled.

_**Really, when was the last time I'd eaten?**_

"Did they not offer you food at the house?" he accused; even if he was a harsh man, he also seemed like a modest one, and probably expected the same of his trusted comrades.

"Th-they did. I just told them I wasn't hungry."

"So you lied." It wasn't meant to sound like a question.

I answered anyway. "Yes, I lied. So? It's my stomach. I'll feed it when I want."

His expression changed for a millisecond, much too fast for me to identify what it could have meant, before he returned to walking briskly ahead of me.

Finally, we stopped walking at this rocky clearing. It was horribly dark, save for—

The _stars_.

And the _moon_.

I gasped, almost tripping over a loose stone, but managed to catch myself. "Look! There's Cassiopeia! And that's Aries! It's so clear!"

"You know constellations?" Now he sounded truly stunned.

"Yeah! My father introduced them to me. He traveled a lot and he said he was always fascinated with how the stars appeared the same no matter where he went. It made him feel at home—" _This isn't __**your**__ Levi. He doesn't care._ Daring to look back at him, my face riddled with chagrin, I stuttered out, "S-sorry, totally irrelevant."

"I guess." He sat down on the ground and gazed up. "So what in the Hell brought you to sleep in an alleyway?"

"Ah—" I could try the story I had brought up to Farlan. "Just lost my way… and I got… tired. And now here we are."

"Yep. Here we are."

We fell into a peaceful silence as I quietly identified all the star formations I knew. He interrupted me after a while with, "So are you going to tell me the truth or what?"

"Truth?"

"When I found you, you were mumbling my name. But I've never met you before."

_Aw, __**Hell**__._ I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face nervously. "You wouldn't believe me anyway. _I_ sometimes don't even believe me."

"Try," he urged in a sharp yet gentle voice—the kind of tone I was used to.

"Alright…" I sat next to him, bringing my legs to my chest and hugging them tightly. "I'm… from the future."

He didn't say anything for a long time. Holding my breath, I glanced over at him—he was glaring at me.

"Do I look like an idiot?"

"I'm _**serious**_!" I screeched, the sound echoing throughout the cove. "I'm from the year 2014—"

"You think I'm an idiot."

"No, not at all. Levi—" I sucked in a breath, counted to ten, then released it. If I panicked, it would have made matters worse. "Told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Well it's kind of out there, kid." _**Don't call me kid! **_I wanted to yell, but stopped myself. "That's not something you hear every day."

"Trust me, I understand." I relaxed a little, dropping my hands to rest on the cold rocks. "What… what are you thinking?"

"That this has been the most **interesting **day I've ever had."

"And it's about to get _**worse**_," someone said from behind him. We both stood up abruptly, Levi using himself as a barrier between myself and the three party crashers before us. "Sorry, are we interrupting your little date?"

Three men with closely shaved heads and scruffy faces appeared under the moonlight, each of them brandishing their own blunt weapon. The man who appeared to be the leader smirked between Levi and myself.

"Kind of. Thanks for ruining my game," Levi joked dryly. If we weren't in a clearly bad situation, I would have kicked him behind his knees so he'd fall. "Are you guys here to get back at me for beating you in chess the other day?"

"Yeah, actually. We'd like our money back." The leader then fixed his gaze on me. "And we might take a little consolation prize for our troubles."

"Over my goddamn dead body," Levi growled, crouching a bit forward.

"It would be our genuine pleasure." And then they leapt.

**refer to chapter 11

**A/N**: The song inspiration for this chapter is "King" by Lauren Aquilina :* Go check it out.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** llamadragonplz, thanks for following! And NightlyRowenTree and Ayrim, thanks for continually reviewing :3

_Music inspiration:_ Between Worlds by Roger Subirana Mata. I suggest listening to it while reading this chapter. watch?v=BEUjeRmDslY

_Chapter 22_

Levi's arm snaked behind to grab hold of my waist and squeeze, causing me to stand a little closer against his back. "When I say," he muttered through his teeth, "you run."

"What about you—"

"When I **say**, you _**run**_," he repeated, releasing his hold on me.

One attacker lifted what appeared to be a bat above his head and tried to bring it down on Levi's. He shoved both of us out of the way, and stumbling for balance again, we barely missed another attacker trying to nail us. Levi grabbed hold of my arm and pushed me forward, almost causing me to fall. Regaining my balance, I looked back at him, afraid one of them would have gotten to him.

"_**Run!"**_ he called, pulling the switchblade from earlier out of his boot and a large dagger out of the other.

It was like watching a dance. Levi's foot came up to make contact with the closest advancing attacker, and as he spun he somehow managed to cut through the leg of the man with the bat. Both fell, each holding their injured areas in agony. The third man, who seemed to be holding a crowbar, or something relatively similar, tried to use the straight, sharp end on Levi's side, but the shorter man managed to bring his dagger up and slice into the other man's shoulder, which in turn caused him to drop his weapon.

I had gotten a few meters ahead before Levi joined me. He replaced one of his weapons before grabbing hold of my wrist and tugging me faster forward.

We made it to his home pretty quickly, and he shut and locked his door behind him. He rolled his eyes at the old, rusted locks, heaving a heavy breath—probably both in annoyance as well as to catch some air. "Like that will keep them out."

"Is that normal?"

Before he could answer, Isabel entered the room, looking between the both of us before asking Levi in a worried voice, "What happened? Are you alright?"

_I don't like that._ I didn't like how warm and tender her voice was when she spoke to him. Jealousy rose within me, sky high and through time, but I sweltered it to the best of my ability.

"Just the usual." He ran a hand through his inky black hair and then moved passed me to go into some room I couldn't see—probably his own. "Hey, kid, come with me."

"It's Rosemary," I scolded him, but he didn't seem to hear me. I followed after him, my hands behind my back and eyes forward. When we were alone, I said quickly, "Thanks for saving me back there—"

"Please **don't**."

I halted at the doorway, tilting my head in confusion. "Huh?"

"Don't… don't thank me. I didn't do anything special." He sat at his rickety old desk chair and positioned himself so he was facing away from me.

I was stunned by his statement. "Levi you… you saved our _lives_ back there. That's _**beyond special**_." I pushed away from the doorway, chipped paint scratching against my palms but I didn't care. "Why do you ask such a thing?"

"When people…" He growled softly, then continued. "When people show gratitude, they try to… stick around. Get close." He turned his body a little more out of my line of sight. "But then… shit happens and they kind of… leave. Or are forced to." He made that annoying "tsk"ing noise, but there was no humor behind it. "Go figure, you know?"

"Levi…"

This was **him**, or part of him. The man I'd fallen in love with. He who was sincere and had a hard time opening up, but when he did one couldn't help but feel for him. My initial instinct was to do something that, say, a **girlfriend** would do and sit in his lap, wrap my arms around, comfort him physically.

This Levi probably wasn't the type of person to appreciate physical contact.

"Then I take my thank you back," I said suddenly, placing my arms over my chest. "You can't have it."

He glanced back at me with a bewildered expression, his grey eyes lost due to my words. "What?" Then he understood what I was trying to do and simply rolled his eyes at me before averting his gaze to his desk.

"Are you trying to do whatever it is you do best? Or am I interrupting?"

"I'm actually just sitting. I've gotten everything I needed to do done, no thanks to you for slowing down my schedule."

"It's _**done**_," I countered quickly, more acidly than I intended. Sitting down on his bed, I added, "So now what, you go to sleep? Think of new chess tactics?"

In all honesty, I was curious about his thug routine. What did criminal Levi do in his free time? What did he eat? How did he sleep? I'd only ever seen him sleep with me in his arms.

"Something like that." He joined me, crossing his legs in his special little Levi way and placed his hands behind him, looking mildly more relaxed. "I kind of try to figure out how to get crazy girls with stupid haircuts back to their own time period."

"_Bor_ing." My hands in my lap, I had to mentally scream at myself not to reach for his; they looked scarred and calloused, just as I remembered them, and somehow that felt like home to me. "I'll get back when Father Time says I am good and ready."

"Fine, then riddle me this: how do you know me again? Just how far in the future did you say you were from?"

"About… 1200 years?" I silently did the math in my head then nodded slowly. "Yeah, 1200. And, ah, the first part is… a very long story." If I told him, it could alter quite a bit of history between now and six years from now. I didn't want to disrupt time and space too much.

I was sure my being involved with Levi probably shifted a lot of gears in Time's original plan, I didn't want to make matters worse—if they were already bad.

"You look like you're about to shit yourself," he commented.

My jaw dropped at his comment—he really had little decorum if he grew comfortable with someone—but I regained my composure and said, "I just don't know what is a good idea to tell you and what is not."

"But you do know me."

"Yes."

"But I'm not 1200 years old."

"No."

"And you're not?"

"Nope."

I heard him shift next to me uncomfortably. "That's confusing."

"Tell me about it."

I heard him lie back and breathe in deeply, and when I looked back at him his hooded eyes were on me. I felt vulnerable under his gaze but tried not to appear so.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked gently. He looked very tired, probably had more than just the one fight going on today.

"No. You can stay as long as you're quiet."

With that answer, I reached for the book he was reading when I first awoken in this time period, flipping through the pages idly. It was about geographic landforms. I held back a gasp, letting my breath come out slowly and evenly before speaking. "This is forbidden."

"So is murdering people and stealing their money, but I don't care." He threw an arm over his forehead. "I thought I told you to be quiet."

"S-sorry," I said then started completely over from the beginning. This type of material, according to Hanji, wasn't allowed to anyone except of high prestige (as in the king) or the military. And even within the military they had set limits as well. It saddened me to know that such beautiful knowledge was sheltered from the public. I assumed that was why I sometimes found myself grateful for my own time period. It was flawed, but things like access to all sorts of literature and television programs and internet websites was a thing people in my time tended to take for granted. I bet some of these people would have killed to know about mountain ranges and low valleys and plains filled with bright flowers—probably would give their own soul just for a glance at those things.

Since I'd successfully made myself sad by the time I had made it to the middle of the book, I shut it and turned around to say something to Levi. I clamped my mouth quickly shut.

His face was so smooth, the worry and frustrated lines of age and experience almost vanished from his features. His lips were opened slightly, the tip of his tongue filling the space between his parted teeth. His chest lifted and lowered very slowly, and a soothing rhythm could be heard from his breathing.

"Oh, _Levi_…" How long had I been reading for? Quite a while, for my back felt stiff from being hunched forward for that amount of time. I leaned back carefully and lay beside him, my eyes never once veering away from his peaceful figure. Tentatively, so much so I could almost hear the joints in my elbow move, I rested my hand upon his, squeezing it gently.

This caused him to open his eyes, his soft gaze falling on me.

"Sorry," I whispered, a warm smile on my face. I went to lift my hand away but he grasped it, his hand so strong and firm around mine. "Levi?"

"What are you to me, Rosemary?" he asked in a sleepy voice, his lips barely moving.

"What… what do you think I am?"

"_**Beyond special."**_ My whole body heated under those words and his gaze, and I found it so hard to breathe. "Am I right?"

"Something like that."

He closed his eyes again, his expression shifting to something… lighter, but it faded quickly. Sleep seemed to overtake him again, as his breathing grew heavy once more. I watched him for a little while longer before removing my hand from under his, leaning over so my mouth was just a hair away from his ear.

"_Please be waiting for me when I get home,"_ I said gently, then pushed myself off the bed and walked out of the room.

Isabel was waiting in the living room, a forlorn expression on her face.

"Uh… I have to… go."

That snapped her out of her reverie and she only nodded at me at first, as if she didn't know what to say. And she probably didn't, for which I couldn't blame her. My mind ran a blank as well. As I neared the door, she finally spoke out to me.

"_**Please take care of him."**_

My hand hovered above the lock and I glanced back at her, face revealing how puzzled I felt. "What do you mean?"

"I heard you guys talking," she admitted, her cheeks turning a bright pink. "Whatever happens, then, please take care of him."

Despite our little introduction from before, despite how awkward it was to be alone with her now, I smiled brightly at her. "And please take care of him _**now**_."

She scoffed, the mood clearly lightening in the room. "Have you met the guy?"

A giggle escaped my lips and I turned back to the door, unlocking it. "See you around."

"Sure."

Outside, I ran straight toward the area I knew I would get into the most trouble. It would be only way to get back to where I needed to be. The men from before were waiting at the enclosed cove, their beady eyes falling on me. The leader smirked, then spit near the ground I was standing in.

"Came here to make the job easier on us, then? Or did you come here to somehow impose a deal on us?" He gave a hoarse laugh, and his lackeys joined right in. "Well, I can think of one way you could pay us back, sweet cheeks."

"You could throw me into the water," I offered, pointing to the shallow pond behind them.

That caught them off guard. "Well," the leader finally said with a shrug, dropping his weapon and reaching for me. "If you insist. Then we'll initiate our own little pay back."

I prayed that this would work. He grabbed hold of my upper arm, lifted me above his head, and tossed me head first toward the pond.

I broke right through, light engulfing me. The year 844 disappeared behind me and I practically flew forward, hoping Time would land me where my heart needed to be right now. I broke through that thin void, the white abyss vanishing in an instant.

There was no time to react. I was whipped to my feet and turned around, lips crashing into mine. Teeth bit against my lower lip and I moaned in response, allowing his tongue entrance. My arms wrapped around his neck, my chest pressed against his, not allowing anymore space between us.

When I needed to breathe, I barely pulled our lips apart, my hooded gaze meeting his.

"You made me wait too long."

"I knew you would wait," I mumbled, happy tears springing to my eyes.

"Of course I did, _**idiot**_." Levi didn't say anymore, just swept me into another breath-taking kiss, the night fading around us as the only thoughts we had were of each other and being embraced in the other person's arms.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Thank yous to: TrollyPop, kageshini, acciopadalecki, Repenned, ave-caesar, and Stormy Sohma for the support! :****

_Chapter 23_

The next morning, soreness took over me just like before. Levi was never rough with me, but because I was so petite in general, the effects the next day were kind of inevitable. And just like before, I woke up alone. Groaning, I moved from the bed and to Levi's closet, releasing a heavy breath.

The problem was, I felt a little tired of wearing his clothes all the time. I missed my closet at times like this, even if my closet was full of old lady scrubs. Grabbing a long sleeved shirt and a loose pair of pants, I walked carefully to the bathroom and washed quickly, then returned to Levi's room just in time to hear someone knock on the door.

"C-come in?" I didn't know if I had the authority to allow people into Levi's room or not, but I was the only one in here, so it didn't matter.

"Miss Rose?" It was Eren's voice, sounding hesitant as usual. I didn't know what it was, but he didn't seem comfortable with talking to older people, whether they be his commanding officers or just a regular adult off the street. However, over the couple months I'd been here, he had grown more comfortable with talking to me.

_I __**think**__._

"Yes, Eren?"

"I hate to ask this, but, er, can you help me with something?"

…

Eren and I were in the forest collecting wood, Armin and Mikasa stationed with laundry duty—though Mikasa wasn't particularly pleased with that decision, she didn't argue about it. While picking up a large piece of wood, my hand slipped and snagged on a splinter.

"J'ow!" I screeched, releasing the load in my arms onto the ground. I inspected the damage and winced; it was pretty deep in there.

"You alright?" Eren asked, quickly coming to my side.

"Yeah, just being a baby." I gave him a reassuring smile, and he helped me pick up what I'd dropped. We replaced them in the satchels on each of our backs and then continued on our way.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, keeping his gaze focused on the ground. _**Too**_ focused.

"Sure." _How could I tell him no? _"What's going on?"

"The higher ups have been… really secretive lately," he admitted to me. "And, I mean, I bet they have every reason to be, you know. I just… I'm wondering, do you know what's going on?"

My hand lingered above a thin stick as I thought over that. Then, with a clearly disappointed tone, I admitted, "No. I don't. Levi is being really secretive with me as well." That disconcerted me more than I was willing to admit.

"I see…" He paused, then said, "I just want to know what they're planning. With me, with my friends, with all of humanity. And they won't let us in. I don't understand why…" He groaned softly, slumping to one knee.

"Eren?" I knelt beside him, pressing a hand to his shoulder. "Look, they have their reasons for everything. And you know that at the end of the day, it's all for humanity's sake. They wouldn't be doing anything that-that you-they—" I took my hand away, giving him a shaky smile.

"Miss?"

"Ah, I just got dizzy all of a sudden. Don't worry about it." Swallowing, I stood up, helping the boy to his feet, and we went about our work without another word.

At home, Levi was waiting for me in his office, leaning against his desk and looking kind of disheveled.

The door shut behind me then I joined him, keeping my hands firmly to myself. "What did you want to see me about?" I lifted the makeshift note he had left me on his bedside table, then placed it on his desk as I awaited an answer.

"Erwin's predicting an attack."

"What?" It was very difficult to keep my voice down, but I somehow managed even under the shock.

"There's been an incident with one of the priests who was helping us out. And now Erwin predicts that we are next on the Military Police's little hitlist."

"You think the Military Police did it?"

"We don't have certain proof, however, they were the last to deal with the priest in question, and they did attack you…" He glanced over at me, his hand unconsciously touching my grandmother's necklace around his neck, before staring at the floor once more. "So we're going to be stepping up on Eren's training."

"Ah…" He knew I didn't approve of what they did with Eren, even if the reasoning was sound. I just saw so much of my brother in Eren, so it kind of hit home to watch a young boy go through so much and have so much on his shoulders. "When?"

"Within the next week for sure. We have to get it approved by the higher ups first. But that's not really why I called you here."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

"How would you like to become less useless?" he asked, now full-on meeting my gaze.

My eyes widened, and I tilted my head, trying to find a way not to be insulted by his words. I gave up. "_**Excuse**_ me?"

"I think that was a rather clear question."

"Would you like to **elaborate**?" I emphasized, rolling my eyes.

"Right." With a heaving breath, he pushed away from his desk and paced the room slowly. "I've been talking to Hanji about something we both feel is important for you to learn. But we wanted to run it by you first."

"Okay…"

"Would you be opposed to fighting?" Now I was lost. My expression, I assumed, revealed that, for he just huffed and said, "Like us? With the gear?"

"Well…" I didn't know if I would succeed in something like that. "I could… _try_. But that's the best thing I could—" Then I remembered something very important. "How prone do you think I would be to panicking?"

"We've thought about that," he told me, waving the idea away. "Trust me, every little angle that has to do with your time traveling crap has definitely been discussed. We can work around it."

"In that case…" I grabbed hold of his arm so he stopped and gave him a broad smile. "When do we start?"

…

"This is so _**stupid!**_"

I was harnessed to some type of mechanism that resembled the 3DMG wires. The first two times I was strapped in, I had fallen flat on my face. Now on the third try, I managed to at least sit up straight, but it was so damn uncomfortable. What made matters worse was the fact Shadis said I needed to hold myself up for at least two minutes before they could let me down.

_**It was the longest two minutes of my life.**_

They let me down gently, and I only glared at Levi from the ground, not having any energy to actually stand up.

I was in a trainee's uniform, just like when I went with Hanji to Connie's old village a couple weeks ago, but this time I was sweating in it. Hanji, Commander Erwin, Commander Shadis, Levi, and Levi's new squad had all come to help me train. Apparently, they wanted to shove three years of training into about a week, when Erwin expected the attack to take place. I would get no breaks, and apparently no sense of mercilessness.

The next thing I knew, I was forced to my feet and shoved off the platform. "Now to get you flying," Shadis said with a chuckle.

_Fuck me,_ I thought, ignoring the growing pounding in my head.

We were brought to a forest, the others already geared up and ready to go. Putting everything on was time consuming, but I managed to do so with a little help. I was sure that wasn't the actual issue when it came to using this crap, however.

Hanji, Erwin, and Levi were stationed at a tall tree, bystanders in my humiliating training session.

Shadis demonstrated how to use the triggers properly, and the teens did the same, so I finally did it. I grabbed hold of a tree branch that was a bit high, which earned me a small round of applause.

"Now get to it," Shadis commanded.

Breathing in, then breathing out, I followed the instructions given to me and shot toward the nearest tree with the grapple, pushing myself off with only one foot like I was told. Just as I neared the tree—I didn't **stop**. I _**couldn't**_ stop. Panic seized me and then—

I was in that **fucking** white ass portal and my thoughts kind of went haywire. I remembered what Levi had told me the night before training day.

"_**We believe that if you focus after going through that portal thing, you'll get back to our time. You also seem to stay where you need to as long as you have purpose to, so think about that."**_

So that was what I did. Closing my eyes, I focused back on that tree from before, and the next thing I knew a whoosh of air went passed me and I was—I hoped—back in the year 850, in that same forest, flying through the air. I hooked another branch and hung there, my breathing uneven.

"Miss Rose!" I heard Eren call, and upon looking down I could have passed out.

"Oh, _fuck_!" I yelled. I had to be at least three stories above everyone else. "I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea how to get down."

"You gotta fall!" Hanji cried up to me.

"Fuck **that** noise!" I screamed, shaking my head. But they were right, the only way to the ground was a one-way street down. It would hopefully give me more practice with these goddamn hooks. Releasing my hold on the branch, I used it to grab hold of the ones below me, like when I was a kid and swung from one bar to the one lowest to it. Just as I was about to reach the others, my hook missed the last branch, and I went falling down rather fast.

I heard the hiss of someone else's gear behind my ear and then someone's arms wrap around my waist, hoisting me over their shoulder and swinging me to the branch I had missed. Setting me down, Levi simply said, "I think that's enough practice for today."

…

I was only in one of Levi's old shirts, for that was the only thing my muscles would allow me to put on before they gave out.

"A _week_? I have to do all the things the trainees have done in just a _**week**_?" There were bruises and marks where the straps had been, and they would have looked exotic if not for how pale my skin was. It just looked like a blue and black mess.

Levi came to sit beside me, still in his uniform.

"You're leaving." I didn't have to really ask, for I knew. "More planning, I assume."

"Yup." He leaned against the headboard and encouraged me to rest my head on his leg. "But I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill." But I was comforted by how close he was anyway, and drifted very easily, despite my pain, into a deep sleep.

**A/N:** So time traveling + 3DMG = a really bad disaster. Btw, this is still going into the manga somewhat, so if you're not caught up you should probably just… just walk away.

**PS:** I was actually going to make this story go a different direction, involving _**pregnancy**_ and whatnot, but decided against it. I may post that chapter kind of as an AU "What if" thing but know it won't be at ALL part of the storyline. If it gets good feedback, maybe I'll make the idea canon but it depends on how I feel about it.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Ayo! Sorry I've been gone! I got a second job so, yeah, whoops. _**SUPER**_** WARNING:** I got sick and tired of fluff so have some angst and yeah it may break your heart whoooooo!

_Chapter 24_

The next two days were just as brutal. As the expected day of attack drew closer and closer, Shadis became more and more harsh on me. I knew it was for the best; the only way I would be able to cram as much training as the cadets did in just a week was only if he pushed me. However, it took a lot of self-control not to go snapping on him for being an asshole, intentionally or not.

Levi was as helpful as ever—and by that, I meant not at all. He just watched with Hanji and Erwin my progress with swinging from tree to tree (it was also times like these I missed the future, for I wanted to make a Tarzan joke yet no one would understand). My practice with the blades was just one humiliating fumble after another, and none of the three experts who perched in high branches offered any type of expertise on the matter. I was kind of annoyed that Levi had been so quiet during my training, just watching with this stupid, calculating expression, but while sailing through the air, I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate.

Flying through the air, once I got the knack of it, ended up being my favorite thing. I didn't like the idea of using a sword, and I particularly didn't like how deeply I had to cut through titan flesh to do any type of damage—or to make a kill. No, it was definitely the soaring between trees and above the fields that appealed to me the most.

I felt free. Even though I wasn't from this time, being here made me realize how confined these people were. And more importantly, how amazing the feeling of the wind in one's hair and under one's arms could make them feel like the birds above, like they could do anything, _**be**_ anything.

After the third day, I made the blunder of expressing all this to Levi.

In his room, he was squatting on the ground trying to clean up some stain on his stone floor. I had just come in from a shower and sat down on his freshly made bed rather tentatively; he was just so anal about using it when we weren't sleeping and I didn't want to overstep any boundaries.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

I guess he heard the strange tone in my voice, for he looked up from his work and eyed me a little suspiciously. With a huff, he put down his rag, took off his gloves, and walked up to me, leaning against the bedside table. "What?"

"About… all that I've been doing." I breathed in, let it out slowly… "I don't… I don't like the idea of hurting anyone. With the blades. I mean, the flying around is great—the greatest, even. But I just… I don't like anything else, really."

He only stared at me after that for some time, and I ended up looking away, feeling rather bashful and a little ashamed. His expression had revealed nothing, which bothered me more than anything. Finally, he said, "So you want to quit?"

"No! I just… Why? Why are we doing this? What provoked it? Why me? Even if I get up to some substantial caliber, it won't make much of a difference. I still… I don't know. I'm not—"

"I will effective and immediately stop this training if you're going to talk like that."

I didn't know why, but his words made my stomach boil, and I full-on glared at him. "Like what? Like I don't like the idea of killing? Like I don't like the idea of hurting others? Well, excuse me for having, what, human feelings?" I stood up and faced him, my hands balled into fists at my sides.

"You sound more like a coward than anything."

I sucked in a harsh breath, unbelieving of what he dared to say to me. Exhaling it, I spat, "No, I sound like I don't like violence! That's an okay thing to feel, Levi! I wasn't raised in this type of environment, so you know what? I'm scared."

"Then quit. It isn't like we spent countless hours training you when we could have done something more productive." His face was still unchanging, revealing none of his emotions. Was he even feeling anything? What else was he thinking? Was that why he had that stupid, calculated expression on his face? He was thinking about all the other things he and his squad and teammates could have been doing when they were too busy trying to gear me up for a battle I was wishy-washy about.

"You're the one who brought it up, Levi! I went along because if I did this—" I clamped my mouth shut, already too embarrassed to say anything further.

"What? You'd be a strong little soldier like the rest of us? Well, you have some time before you reach that point. We just wanted you to be able to defend yourself." He shrugged. "I mean, you can stop now and be fine. Just don't engage a titan."

"I did this for _you_!" I finally said, unable to take it anymore. "I did this because if I could fight at all, I could at least fight at _**your**__ side_!"

This seemed to surprise him a little, for his eyes widened just a tad, but then his face reverted to its usual air of carelessness. "Then why are you talking about any of this at all? Get over it." I could tell by how stiff his body appeared he was trying very hard to keep himself in check, and my loud ass mouth was probably making that increasingly difficult.

I wasn't being fair, I knew. He lived in a world where you either fought or died, and complaining got you the latter option. But his reaction really set me off, and I didn't think I could go back or calm myself down.

My pride just wouldn't let me.

"W-whatever," I grumbled, standing up and wobbling a little. He reached out to catch me but I moved away from his grasp.

"Where the Hell are you going?"

"Where ever I please! I'm an adult!" As I slammed his bedroom door behind me, the faint words _"are you sure about that_" trailed after me. I decided to be the bigger man and pay his stupid, witty remark no mind.

Soon I was outside, where it was raining. Wind had started to pick up and blow my short silver hair into my green eyes, washing away the tears threatening to surface, but I didn't care. I didn't care about the sleeting rain, about the upcoming attack, about future missions, about the titans, about anything right then except for walking forward.

As I went deeper and deeper into the forest, the dusk turning into night, I realized way too late: _**I was not as familiar with this place as I initially thought.**_ Turning around, trying to recognize some part of the woods, I quickly concluded I had gotten myself hopelessly lost.

Now the tears erupted, spilling onto my already wet cheeks and down my chin. I hiccupped a sob, shaking my hair from my face.

_**This was all Levi's fault!**_ I was just wanting to talk to him about what was on my mind, but he had to go and be a fucking asshole about it!

Truthfully, as I continued to walk in a random direction without any destination in mind—I'd given up, since I really didn't know where I was going anyway—I knew my behavior was uncalled for. He was thinking critically because, well, that was what he _did_. That was just Levi's way. And I wasn't understanding at all. That, and he was **right**. I had been too easily defensive about the situation, and now lost in this forest, I wanted nothing more than to be in his warm bedroom, apologizing for what I had said and done.

He probably lost a lot of people who had thought the same way I did, just focusing on the flying and nothing else, and that was why he spoke out like that. I slowed my pace, realizing I was only getting further in. My legs were already tired from training, but now they felt like lead and walking became horribly painful.

I slipped in some mud along the path, but instead of simply falling down, I fell to the side, the mud sliding along a large ditch. I grabbed hold of a root, noticing that the drop was actually rather rocky despite the green growth that tried to encase it.

And, _boy_, was it high.

I gripped the root with both hands and tried to pull myself up, but my feet kept slipping on the slick sides of the ditch, and my hands were losing its hold very fast since the entirety of the forest was so wet. Grunting, I tried one last time to lift just enough of my body up so I could reach above and over the ditch itself, but the root couldn't handle my weight anymore. I felt myself falling backwards, as if in slow motion, and just as that familiar whiteness went to consume me, someone grabbed hold of my wrist and hoisted me forward, away from it.

"_**Idiot!"**_ he yelled, his voice and face revealing more anger than I'd ever seen him express.

**Ever.**

"L-Let go!" I called back, though it was my pride talking more than anything else. Actually, I wanted to crawl the little distance into his arms and weep for my idiocy, but something inside me just wouldn't allow it. The portal whipped behind me, making a strange, hollow noise as it tried to pull me back to the year 2014. "If it's my time to go, then let me go!"

"And risk you not coming back?" He tugged on my wrist, but because it was so wet from the rain and mud, he could barely hold on at all. "Not a fucking chance!"

My heart was telling me to help him, to pull myself up and away from the gaping white hole trying to suck me in, but once again my pride got the better of my and I slipped my hand from his, grabbing hold of a very thin vine for leverage. "Levi, I don't **belong** here, okay? I don't belong in this type of world. This isn't my battle to fight—I can't do anything to help you!" As I admitted it aloud, I could feel my voice cracking and my lip quivering. It was true, and that was part of the problem. "I-I am so useless. I'll only get in the way!" My foot slipped and the portal ended up tearing off one of the loafers Levi let me borrow; it was too big anyway. "I-I'm **sorry**, okay?" _There, I said it._ "I'm sorry for making you wait on me all the time, and I'm sorry for yelling at you and walking off! I'm sorry for not being able to fight like the rest of you, and I'm sorry for wasting your time—"

"Idiot, quit talking and come to me!" His entire body became stricken with panic as he reached down for me, but I still wouldn't allow him to touch me. "Rosemary, come _**on**_!"

I shook my head, allowing one arm and leg dangle toward the portal. I had never done this before, never dove in by will. Usually I let Time take care of the "engulfing me" part—even when I had those thugs throw me in, that was with the faith Time would be waiting at the shallow bottom to take me to Levi again.

"You want to leave? You want to throw away everything because of **one** shitty fight?" His voice sounded different and forced me to look up at him. My eyes widened as my brain registered why it was different.

_**Pain.**_ He looked like he was in excruciating pain. I hadn't seen him like that since his comrades had fallen to the Female Titan; that felt like ages ago.

"Well, I'm not the type of person to let an _**asshole**_ like you do that to me," he growled, lunging forward for me.

Both of us entered the portal then, it closing very quickly right behind us.

**A/N:** Believe it or not, I already have Chapter 25 written, but I'll give you guys a little before actually posting it, ha!

I should have been doing homework and writing memos.

I did neither #yolo


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** What can I say? I got inspired. Thanks again for you awesome folks who did your thing and read and the like okay story time.

_Chapter 25_

We tumbled for a very short amount of time before landing on the hard, carpeted floor of my bedroom. I groaned, pushing Levi off of me and trying my best to stand up—only to fail miserably and stumble and fall all over again.

I didn't look at him. We didn't dare speak. Something different had just happened between us, some type of shift, and we were afraid—or at least, _**I **_certain was—of somehow penetrating some unforeseen limit by opening our mouths.

Instead, I crawled over to my closet, grabbed a big t-shirt (Glee, are you fucking kidding me?), then slipped over to my underwear drawer, grabbing a pair tentatively so as to not get it muddy, before leaving Levi alone on my floor to hop into my bathroom. However, after laying my dirty clothes on the tiled ground and my fresh clothes on the toilet seat to turn on my water and get in, I simply squat in the tub, curled into a ball, and didn't dare to move.

_I'm such a brat,_ I thought, the feeling of all the dirt I'd accumulated from the forest washing away and leaving me to feel almost refreshed_. I treated him so badly for caring about me so much. I know he does, I know he doesn't think I'm useless, but yet I still…_

I was hurtful to him on purpose. I wanted that moment to be our last, and I wanted it to scar him so he would forget about me and focus on more important things—like the titan tyranny and prepping Eren for the biggest mission in humanity's history.

My bathroom door opened up, and I heard a strange shuffling noise, though my shower curtain shielded whatever Levi could have been doing.

"Move forward," he commanded, and I obeyed, too exhausted emotionally and physically to argue with him. The back of the shower curtain opened and closed quickly, and I heard him step in and sit down behind me. He reached his arms around my head for the shampoo and opened the cap. The next thing I knew, his hands were lathering my hair, massaging my scalp.

_I don't deserve this,_ I wanted to say. _Please stop. Clean yourself off. I'll get you back to your own time and we'll forget about all of this. Everything._

_**But that was probably the most idiotic thing to ever cross my mind.**_

I couldn't forget Levi, even if I wanted to, and even with the stakes running high in his own time period, I also knew that he couldn't forget about me. We had come too far together for that sort of thing to happen.

_Besides, didn't he still have my grandmother's necklace?_

He shifted his body so he could use the spraying water to rinse out my hair. The suds built up around us, so he had to move for it to properly drain. His hand then grabbed the liquid soap and washcloth, and he began rinsing off my shoulders, back, his hand reaching around to my middle. Anywhere he touched, my skin blushed in response, embarrassing me further. He had seen me naked before, but even then I didn't feel as stupidly vulnerable as I did now.

"S-stop," I managed to get out before covering my mouth with the back of my hand, stifling a sob.

"Do you not like it? Do you want me to leave?"

I could only shake my head, still unable to turn around and meet his gaze.

"No… what?"

"D-don't—" I breathed heavily and tried once more. "Don't leave."

"Ah." I heard the slosh of the washcloth hitting the side of the tub and then felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me toward him. "Is this okay?"

"I-I think so, but—" Mustering up all the courage I had left, I glanced back at him to say more, but stopped.

_Breathtaking. Beautiful._ Even as the water sprayed the top of his head, he still looked as _**radiant**_ as ever.

"You're uncomfortable."

He moved his arms to slither them away from me, but I wouldn't allow it. Turning around fully, I pressed my hands against his chest and brought my mouth to his. His lips felt softer than before, definitely warmer and more tender—maybe it was the water, I didn't know. But as his tongue slipped into my mouth to make its claim against mine, as a moan escaped the back of my throat, I didn't really care to know the reason.

_**I just cared about Levi.**_

He broke the kiss to set my back on the cool tub floor, Levi hovering over me. My gaze was hooded as I stared into his eyes, a steely grey that held that smolder I had only seen a couple of times before.

"Kiss me," I whispered, and he obliged, his lips gently taking mine as his again, his teeth softly biting against my bottom lip. He bent down so his chest was pressed upon mine and his hips mere inches away from me. I groaned, wanting him to take me, wanting him to claim all of me as his own—because I truly was in every aspect and I didn't bother to fight it anymore—but he refrained.

_**Why was he hesitating? **_I pulled away, whimpering softly as I stared at him quizzically.

"This feels _different_," he admitted, his face taking on its familiar, unimpressed expression. So he felt it too, the way something had shifted between us, the thing that made me come here in the first place.

"**Final,"** I muttered, finally finding a word for it.

"And that is fine with me," he said, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. "I didn't plan on going back anyway. Why do you think I'm here at all?"

He didn't mean on going back to his own time; he would do that even if it meant going through goddamn **Hellfire**. He meant going back from this, from us, from what we've built and from what Time has done with us.

Kissing him with so much fervor that it actually astounded me and sent my entire body ablaze, I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him to me. I wasn't going back either—I _**couldn't**_. Even if I had come here without him, my heart would still be in the year 850 for it was completely, utterly, pathetically _**his**_.

His hips dipped so his tip was at my entrance, toying with me, making me writhe for more. I whined against his mouth, tears welling up and sliding down my cheeks, mixing with the water that collected around us. _Don't torture me,_ I wanted to say, but by _**God**_ I couldn't say the words, not as distracted as I was. He took my little whine as confirmation to continue, and soon he was completely inside me, his hips already creating a steady rhythm. I cried out, not bothering to keep quiet like the last two times we did this.

_This feels different._ He filled me more completely, my walls clenched tighter around him. He wasn't bothering to be gentle and slow like before, but pumped in and out of me almost viciously, moans escaping with every thrust. I lifted my hips to meet his, unable to take any type of space between our bodies.

He buried his face within the crook of my neck, his breath feeling hot and warm against my sensitive, flushed skin. Then he trailed soft kisses along my jaw, my cheeks, never losing rhythm as his forehead pressed against mine, his eyes locking with mine.

"I-I'm embarrassed," I whimpered, another moan soon leaving my lips.

"Why?" he asked, slowing down but never taking his length out of me.

"I don't… don't want you to see me while—" _I come._ How the fuck was I supposed to explain that?

"But I want to." God, did he have to say it like that, his voice low and husky, the way he talked to only me? "I want to watch you unravel because of me and only me, Rosemary."

"L-Levi…" I urged him to continue by squeezing my thighs around his waist, crying out when he picked up his rhythm again. After that, the build-up was rather quick, egged on by the way he stared at me so intently, with so much love and seriousness and that same calculating expression.

_Caring,_ I corrected myself. _Caring is the correct word._

I couldn't take it anymore. The heat in my abdomen unwound into one particular point in my groin, making me scream out Levi's name like a prayer loud enough for the Heavens to hear. I shuddered under his gaze, gasping for air as I came down from my high, my eyes blurry with tears and the water sprinkling about us, long forgotten. His face contorted as he soon released his seed within me, his hips slowing down, his length pulsating deep inside me like his familiar heartbeat.

Slowly, he slipped out of me, wrapping his arms around my back and helping me to my feet. I didn't want to walk; I didn't even want to _think_ about moving. He led the way back to my room, both of us still soaking wet but too exhausted to care. We flopped under the warm blankets, our arms clinging to the other person like it was the end of the Earth or something.

_I almost let him go,_ I thought suddenly, my face pressed against his chest and my lips leaving soft butterfly kisses on his hard skin. _I almost let myself believe I didn't need him anymore, that I could just walk away forever and not care._

"We have to get back first thing tomorrow," he said suddenly, making me jump a little.

"You still want me to go back with you?" I asked, and by the expression on his face, that was a very stupid question to ask. "Did… did you want to take a real shower before that, though?"

"Please. And you stay _**out **_of the bathroom."

Despite the small turmoil of emotions building up within me, despite the fact he just told me what to do in **_my_** own house, I grinned, snuggling up into him and falling quickly asleep.


	26. AU Chapter

**A/N:** I haven't felt a lot of muse for this story, so here is that Pregnancy!AU I promised! It in no way affects the current events of the story, but if it receives some good feedback I may make it a part of the future of the story. Enjoy!

**PS:** Let me take the time, for I haven't in a while, to acknowledge the following people for supporting me: TickleMeSweet, SabakuNoGaara426, Matsuri Hikari, , megamonster205, propertyofruki, The Tiny Mouse, Ramsfan7, Masked BitcH (one of my fave mmds btw), IKhandoZatman, najamuzen, Lumihiutale89, Aiseki0Hikari, Jaygrl22, Wimblestat, Onikushita, CHINKINESS-ROCKS, and my reviewers ave-caesar, ruvo, and StormySohma! Thanks guys for reading!

_AU Chapter_

Two weeks had passed after that night, and Levi and I didn't say much to each other. We didn't _have_ to. So we did our own little things—while he was with Erwin and Hanji doing God-knew-what, I stayed home with the teens and helped them clean.

Eren and I were in the forest collecting wood, Armin and Mikasa stationed with laundry duty—though Mikasa wasn't particularly pleased with that decision, she didn't argue about it. While picking up a large piece of wood, my hand slipped and snagged on a splinter.

"J'ow!" I screeched, releasing the load in my arms onto the ground. I inspected the damage and winced; it was pretty deep in there.

"You alright?" Eren asked, quickly coming to my side.

"Yeah, just being a baby." I gave him a reassuring smile, and he helped me pick up what I'd dropped. We replaced them in the satchels on each of our backs and then continued on our way.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, keeping his gaze focused on the ground. _**Too **_focused.

"Sure." _How could I tell him no?_ "What's going on?"

"The higher ups have been… really secretive lately," he admitted to me. "And, I mean, I bet they have every reason to be, you know. I just… I'm wondering, do you know what's going on?"

My hand lingered above a thin stick as I thought over that. Then, with a clearly disappointed tone, I admitted, "No. I don't. Levi is being really secretive with me as well." That disconcerted me more than I was willing to admit.

"I see…" He paused, then said, "I just want to know what they're planning. With me, with my friends, with all of humanity. And they won't let us in. I don't understand why…" He groaned softly, slumping to one knee.

"Eren?" I knelt beside him, pressing a hand to his shoulder. "Look, they have their reasons for everything. And you know that at the end of the day, it's all for humanity's sake. They wouldn't be doing anything that-that you-they—" I took my hand away, giving him a shaky smile.

"What's wrong?" Eren placed both of his hands on my sides to steady me.

"Ah, just feelin' a little-little sick is all. I've been like this for a couple days." I tried to stand up, but when I did, I almost fell backwards. Eren reached for one of my wrists and helped me stand upright.

"We need to go tell Hanji or—"

"N-no!" I cried, shaking my head quickly. "Look, they have enough on their plate as it is, I don't want to make matters worse by—I mean, I bet it's just a cold or—"

A wave of nausea cut through me like a harsh wind, and unstrapping the satchel from my person, I ran into the nearest thicket and, holding my stomach, let it loose. My body felt like it was ripping its insides to shreds, but once it was over, it was like I hadn't even vomited at all—just a little out of breath. I pressed a hand against a tree, the other one on my back as I tried to catch some air again. _Poor kid, he probably has a million other things he'd rather have witnessed._

I moved away from the tree, but my footing was off—or I really was that dizzy. I landed hunched on the thicket and my mind went black, the last thing I heard being Eren's voice calling my name.

…

My senses came back to me before I finally had the courage to open my eyes. My hands curled around something soft—a sheet? And the rest of my body felt stiff, probably because I hadn't moved in some time. My mouth tasted sour, and my ears were picking up a strange noise—it was the buzzing of talking, but my mind wasn't making words out of anything.

Finally, I blinked open my eyes, light from an open window searing my vision. I placed a hand over them, opening my fingers to peek through. Sitting in a chair with a stack of papers in her lap was Hanji, Moblit sitting right beside her. They were studying them rather carefully—probably the crap they'd been secretive about for two weeks.

"H-Hanji?" I said in a meek voice, my throat killing me. "Where am I? What happened?"

She instantly set the papers on the bedside table near me and stood up, taking my hand and leaning over me. Moblit went to stand on the other side, and somehow that worried me. Why would he ever think to move away from his squad leader?

_**Did Hell freeze over?**_

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

"How are you feeling?" Hanji's voice was laced with concern, and uncharacteristically soft.

"Ah… tired. That's about it." I shifted so I was sitting up, my back straight—and not screaming at me anymore. "Why am I here?"

"Eren brought you to the house after you fainted just as we'd arrived from the inner wall. He explained what happened, and we thought it strange that even if you had vomited that you passed out at all, so we brought you to the hospital. They did some tests, said you were fine…"

It was the way her voice trailed off that I knew I needed her to go on. "But…?"

"How long have you been feeling this sick?"

"Hanji, just spill it already. What's going on?"

The taller woman looked to her second-in-command, who only nodded at her, before she continued. "One of the tests was a procedure one, but it came back affirmative…" She took a deep breath then said…

…

At the fortress, the first person I went to see was Eren. I felt bad for stressing him out, and wanted to make sure he was alright.

Inside his basement room, he was down on his knees, trying to sweep up some dust that had no doubt snuck its way onto his otherwise clean floor. He glanced up when he saw me walk in and got to his feet, saluting me.

"E-Eren, I'm not a soldier. You don't have to do that."

"Habit." He gave me a warm, sweet smile, which I returned. "How are you?"

"Ah… Fine, I think. Did they… tell you anything about my stay at the hospital?"

"Just that the tests the doctors ran came back fine. Why?" One of his eyes twitched; he most likely suspected something was wrong.

"Uh… See…" Was this an appropriate conversation to be having with a teenager? _Probably not._ "There was some questioning stuff, but it's all fine too." Then I quickly added, "Thank you. For taking care of me. And I'm sorry about—"

He held up his hands and shook his head. "I was glad. I knew something was wrong with you when we first started trekking in the forest, so I'm happy that you have gotten some help."

Bidding him farewell, I went upstairs to Levi's office. As usual, the door was shut, so I knocked on it.

"Come in," droned his voice, and for a second I thought about running away. I wasn't sure if he had heard anything—knowing Hanji, she wouldn't reveal anyone's news that didn't belong to her. Somehow that made me more nervous. "Are you coming in or not?"

Tentatively, I turned the door handle and walked inside, shutting it slowly behind me and pressing my back against it.

"You're back." Levi stepped away from his desk and stood in front of me, hands folded over his chest. "How are you feeling?"

Everyone had been asking me that today. It was becoming one of those questions I was definitely tired of hearing. I sucked in a breath, opened my mouth to speak, then shut it again. My eyes started to water, and all-and-all, nausea wanted to take over me again. Though, it was probably due to the fact I was nervous over being actually sick.

Which, I wasn't sick at all.

I was confusing myself.

"What? Did the physicians say anything to you about what's going on?"

"Levi—" My voice shook; I couldn't say it. I slid to the floor and curled my knees close to my chest.

He knelt right beside me, his eyes full of worry and suspicion. "What? What is it, Rosemary?"

"I-I… Hanji said—" A hiccup then a sob escaped, and I had to calm myself down before I bothered talking again. "I'm pregnant."

I didn't dare look at him. I didn't even move. I listened intently for a response for some time, so when one came, it wasn't at all what I expected.

"That's it?"

My mouth gaped and I openly **glared** at him, completely taken aback by his reply. "That's _it_? What the Hell do you mean, that's _**it**_? Levi, this is a big freaking deal! I'm not ready to be a mom—"

"No, I just—I thought it was worse, by the way you were acting. Like you were… I don't know, **dying** or something." He rolled his eyes and blew a stray piece of black hair out of his eyes.

"Oh… I'm sorry." I shook my head, wiping my face. "Nope, _**just **_having a baby."

Levi moved to sit beside me, but didn't touch me like I wanted him to. I wanted his comfort, warmth, security. But honestly, just being by his side gave me comfort as well.

"I can't promise to be as supportive of a man as you deserve to have," he admitted, keeping his gaze on me, looking firm and honest as usual. "And in a world like this one, I can't promise to be alive the entirety of their life, or yours. But I can promise to try my best."

I reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, smiling softly. "That's all I want, Levi. I would never want any more from you than what you've given me."

He leaned close and pecked my temple, and I used that as a sign to rest my head close to his. We sat in silence like that for a while, wrapped in each other's company.

_A baby,_ I thought with a soft scoff. _We're having a __**baby**__._

**A/N:** As I said, this is not at ALL part of the original storyline. It's kind of what I was gonna do instead of the chapter I already posted but decided against. It would make Levi kind of OOC you know.

I MAY have her be pregnant later, depending on how I feel about the idea, but for now she's not :P Have a nice day.


	27. Chapter 26

A/N: Hey guys! It's been like, what, a month since I last updated? Well, I have 2 jobs and university, and I've started on a Levi origins story that may or may not have an OC later (either that or Rivetra), so that's why I've not been here. I don't have a lot of muse for this story, so maybe I'll put it on hiatus until I feel the need to finish it. But until then, I'm gonna give you this chapter that's been playing in my head for quite some time! Mainly a filler. Enjoy!

_Chapter 26_

My hand reached for the empty space next to me, squeezing the bunched up sheets surrounding me, and I sighed in slight disappointment. _I am waking up. Alone. __**Again.**_

I pushed myself off the bed, gathering up the blankets and covering them around my torso, shivering a bit from the cool air of my apartment. Last night replayed vividly in my head, and a soft smile crossed my lips before listening in for any signs of life.

The shower was going off; of course he would be cleaning himself after what happened last night. Rolling my eyes, I ventured into my closet for some old shorts and a raggedy t-shirt before exiting my room and entering the kitchen.

Just as I was closing my fridge, grimacing from the sight and smell of rotting food I never got the chance to eat mocking me, a knock sounded at my door. I wracked my brain for anyone I had planned to have visit recently, then promptly gave up. I would have gone to check my phone, but surely it was dead by now; I hadn't charged it in God-knew-when.

"Coming," I called, then remembered with a halt: Levi was naked. In my bathroom. Without clothes. In my house. _**Fuck fuck fuck.**_ What was I supposed to do? Well, nothing about it now. I made it evident I was in the room and that I was, indeed, coming to that door. I felt obligated now.

Tentatively, I unlocked the latch and turned the knob, peeking through a small space as I opened the wooden door, and tried very hard not to gasp in horror. _**Misty.**_ "Hey," I muttered, stepping back to let her in. She would have pushed her way through either way, so may as well not bother fighting it. "What are you doing here?"

"Cut the crap," she spat at me, her blue eyes on fire, her hands firmly placed on her tanned hips. "I'm so sick of you going MIA all the damn time. You worry the shit out of everyone and I think it's pretty damn inconsiderate of you. I realize that you're a grown ass woman, but avoiding everyone for whatever-the-fuck is really rude and rather childish. So you wanna tell me what the fuck is going on with you?"

Slowly, I processed her words, allowed them to sink in, blinked once, twice, three times. Then opening my mouth, I said, "This is my house, you don't have a right to talk to me like that."

"What the—that's hardly even the point, Rose!" She through her hands into the air, rolling her eyes and giving me an exasperated expression. "Everyone is scared for you right now. They're all thinking you're doing drugs or something. You're out of the job, you know that right? You don't have a source of income, you keep everyone out of the loop, we're worried! And that's all you have to say on the matter?"

No lie, this was all a surprise to me. This was Misty, my party girl best friend who gave no fucks about anyone or anything—not unless they could do something for her. That was what I liked about her—she was assertive and knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. However, this was the first instance in which she had used that type of attitude on me, so I wasn't particularly appreciative of the way she spoke to me.

I deserved it. Deep down, I knew that, but my pride wouldn't let up on this one.

Just as I was about to spew something back that was undoubtedly not-so-witty, my bathroom door opened, and a certain inky haired man with a towel around his waist came waltzing out. His gaze first fell on Misty, whose jaw dropped at the sight of him, then me, raising just a single eyebrow.

Something about that made me want to laugh, and I would have, if not for the fact my best friend had just irritated me by yelling at me. With a shrug, he went into my bedroom and shut the door, not giving Misty another passing glance.

Facing me again, she said in a low whisper, "Is that him?"

I nodded slowly, unsure if I should say anything at all. On the one hand, I was irked, but on the other… well, Levi always had a way of calming me down, even with just his presence.

"Oh. My. God." She placed a hand over her mouth and started making small squealing noises. My eye twitched in response, as it usually did, if only because it got on my nerves. She spoke again: "I am not gonna lie, Rose. I thought you were lying."

"Huh?"

"Well, I thought you were telling me all that as a ploy to get over Sam."

"I'm long over Samiel," I informed her. "Levi helped…"

"Levi… I like that name." She gave an approving nod and a genuine, wide smile. "I'm glad then. That was the only reason. But I don't feel like it's enough to just shut us out. Look," she added quickly, pressing a hand to my shoulder, "we just wanna know everything is A-OK with you. When we don't hear from you, and when we hear that you're just kinda going missing for no damn reason, we all get scared. More people care about you than you probably have made yourself think."

I blushed. It was a rare occurrence, but when it happened, it was very hard for me to stop. Clearing the knot out of my throat, I said simply, "Sorry. I'll try harder."

"That's all I want." Ruffling my hair, she made her way to the front door and threw it open, turning back only to wink at me before finally leaving my home.

Alone in my living room, I rubbed at my cheeks, as if that would be enough to make the red go away. Levi exited then, still towel drying his hair.

"Your friend is tall."

"She's a model." I took the towel between my hands and started helping him with his little task. "When did you want to go back?"

"After you take a damn shower. You smell awful."

"Thank you for not being subtle." I took the wad of towel in my hands and shoved it in his face before going around him, lingering at the door. "Levi?"

"What?" He draped the towel around his shoulders and fixed his gaze on mine.

"Did you still want to train me? Or whatever?"

He didn't say anything for awhile, just glanced at the ground as if that would provide any answers. Then he told me, "Yeah. I would." Turning his back on me, he grabbed my remote and immediately started flipping through the channels. The sound of Law & Order: SVU rang all the way into the bathroom, and I chuckled as I closed the door.

From here on out, I'll try not to worry anyone. It'll be hard, but I'll figure it out.

…

Hanji could not hug me tight enough. I growled into her shoulder, my feet far off the ground, my nose crushed into her jacket. "I was afraid something happened to you both."

_**Would I be hearing that statement all day?**_

"It's her fucking fault," Levi stated, adding that annoying "tch" noise at the end of his sentence. I could just hear him rolling his damn eyes.

"Although I am glad that you're alright," I heard Erwin start to say, at which point Hanji finally let me down, "we do have some pressing matters to attend to." He took out a piece of paper and handed it to Levi. The shorter man opened it up, read it quickly, then put it away in his front pocket. "Do you understand what I need you to do?"

"Yes sir."

Again with this? Being all secretive around me? What was the point in all this training if, at the end of the day, I was still left out of everything?

Erwin nodded solemnly. "Get going. Get some rest. You have until nightfall."

I looked between the three of them, and Hanji finally took hold of my arm, hauling me away from the two men. "What's going on?"

"You'll know soon enough."

A/N: This chapter is the shortest one I've made so far, but figured I would get it out there. Thanks for waiting! And tell me what you think about the origins story and what direction I should go with it, please? Even in messages! Have a nice day!


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